


It's about time

by maanorchidee



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, M/M, Minor Rachel Berry/Wes Montgomery, There are midgames, near misses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-01
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-09 06:46:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 19,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12882378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maanorchidee/pseuds/maanorchidee
Summary: Kurt and Blaine meet on the disaster that is Rachel Berry’s 21st birthday party. Little do they know that they could’ve met before. They could’ve met 23 times in their lives, but they never ran into each other. Here are the 23 near misses.





	1. Daycare

**Author's Note:**

> Are you ready for the @klaineadvent, because I sure as fuck am. Only this year, things will be different. Instead of picking a musical song to write a small random piece every day, this will be a series consisting of 24 short stories.
> 
> And of course, no. 24 will be the actual meeting. I guess one day will have two stories because I really want to keep the tradition of having tumblr!Klaine come back once a year (see: 2015 Ocean, 2016 Journey), but apart from that, it’s going to be this story.
> 
> Enjoy.

**Klaine Advent 2016 Day 1: Attachment**

**Near miss one: daycare.**

* * *

“Are you ready for this?” Burt Hummel asks his son. Kurt might only be three years old, but he understands what is happening. His mommy and daddy are leaving him behind. He shakes his head.

“I don’t want to go,” he says sadly.

“It’s not forever,” Elizabeth Hummel says and she squeezes Kurt’s hand, “It’s just daycare. Mommy and daddy will come to pick you up later. But now, you will be here for a couple of hours. You can make new friends!”

But little Kurt shakes his head and his eyes start to water. “No, you’re my friends.”

“We’re your best friends, bud,” Burt says, “But who says you can’t have other friends as well? This is the best daycare in the area. It will be fun.”

“Pinky promise?” Kurt asks his parents.

“Double, triple pinky promise, sweetpea,” Elizabeth says and the three of them make the most important pinky promise of their lives. Or at least, that’s how Kurt sees it.

Burt and Elizabeth take him inside and the daycare lady is nice enough to Kurt. They leave and Kurt watches them go before he turns to all the other kids.

* * *

“No.”

“Pamela, at least consider it,” Todd Anderson asks his wife.

“I don’t want to leave my baby behind,” Pam Anderson says, “Cooper never went to a daycare and he’s fine. Why does Blaine have to go away?”

“What if you’re not home?”

“Cooper can look after him. He’s twelve.”

Todd sighs and he takes his wife’s hand. “Pamela, I know you’re too attached to him. I love him too, but it’d be great for him. Besides, this is the best daycare in the area. It will be fun.”

But Pam stands up. Her decision is final.


	2. Playground

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, maybe anyone can help me by picking a title for this fanfic? The “Klaine Advent 2017″ thing I got going on is just the working title for now. Please help me, I’ll send you virtual puppies.
> 
> I thought of something among the lines of Near Misses, but then I remembered there’s already a Near Misses, written by flaming_muse, and I can’t do that one justice anyway.

**Klaine Advent 2017 Day 2: Bucket**

**Near miss two: playground.**

* * *

“Do you want to hold hands?” Mercedes asks.

Kurt smiles when he sees his friend. Some friendships start early, and the one between Kurt and Mercedes is an example of that. They met at daycare five years ago and they’ve been friends ever since.

So yes, of course he holds Mercedes’s hand. That is what they always do when they’re on the playground together. There aren’t many friends out there for Kurt. The other kids are mean towards him. His daddy has told him it’s because he’s different, and it is what makes him unique, but some people are too dumb to get that.

Kurt has to agree, because Mercedes likes him and she is not dumb.

But meeting new kids wouldn’t hurt and Mercedes agrees. “Wait here. I am going to look for more kids. We should play house, but we need to have kids.”

“Wait, we’re going to be the parents?” Kurt asks.

“Yes, is that a bad thing?” Mercedes asks.

“I just wonder why we always need a mommy and a daddy to play house,” Kurt says, but he shrugs. Mercedes nods and she walks around.

Then, she spots two other people. The teen is looking bored. The little kid is playing in the sandbox of the playground with his little plastic bucket and shovel. He is alone, so maybe he wants to play.

“Squirt, I so hate you for this.”

“You’ve been saying that, Coopy,” the kid says, but he doesn’t seem upset.

“I just want to go home. I’m sixteen now. I shouldn’t be spending every day looking after my kid brother,” ‘Coopy’ rolls his eyes.

Mercedes walks up to them.

“Hi, my name is Mercedes. Do you want to play with me and my friend Kurt?” Mercedes asks.

The boy wants to answer, but his brother cuts in.

“No, no, no, he can’t play. Sorry, little girl, but Blaine and I should get going.” The teen takes his brother’s hand and they walk off. Blaine protests, but his brother is having none of it.

Mercedes thinks it’s a bit sad, because the boy looked really eager to join them. But Mercedes shrugs and she continues her search for a playmate.


	3. Middle school

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to Google middle school for this, because what on Earth is that? I thought it was an American only thing, but apparently it’s not. This does explain why I never got what the French were doing, but apparently American middle school is groep 7 en 8 and de brugklas.
> 
> Why are education systems so different everywhere?

**Klaine Advent 2017 Day 3: Collapse**

**Near miss three: middle school.**

* * *

 

“But… but why?” Blaine yells. His parents are looking at him with sympathetic eyes. “I don’t want to leave. I actually love it here. I have friends.”

“It is just for three years or so, Blaine,” his mother says calmly, but her son cannot be calmed down, “Sweetheart, this is a huge opportunity for us, you know that?”

Blaine knows he can’t stop his family from moving to Vietnam for three years, but he is stubborn. He’s supposed to be starting middle school after summer. He’s made plans to join his friends at the Lima Middle School. He wasn’t planning on moving to freaking Asia. He’s Filipino, not Vietnamese. There’s no one in Vietnam that he knows. He’s built his whole life here in Lima. He isn’t ready for it to collapse and fall into pieces.

“Why does Cooper get to stay?”

“Because your brother is 21 and living in Los Angeles,” his father says sternly. He doesn’t want to hurt his son, but Blaine needs to understand that this is not up for discussion. “Blaine, you are still a kid. Like you said, you still have to start middle school.”

“But I-”

“You can start high school when we come back,” his mother says.

Blaine shakes his head, but he has to accept that he will not go to the Lima Middle School.

* * *

Kurt is looking to his reflection in the mirror. Summer’s over and Kurt has to say that he’s finally growing up. He’s waiting for the baby fat to finally disappear, so maybe the other kids will finally stop picking on him.

The doorbell rings.

It’s Mercedes.

Kurt is happy that he at least still has her. 

“Are you ready?” she asks.

Kurt nods, but he’s lying. Yet, he takes her arm and they make their way to the bus that will bring the two of them to the Lima Middle School.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He’s moving to Vietnam because two kids of my adoption group did that. Little reference to them? Wohoo.
> 
> Also, Leydhawk and @hkvoyage have given me title suggestions. I will react to them in the comments, but thanks already!


	4. High school

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you see that? It’s a freaking title! Thanks to Leydhawk for giving me the “about time” thing, even though I wasn’t intentional and thanks to hkvoyage for making me realise I should try to get insipration from it.

**Klaine Advent 2017 Day 4: Drink**

**Near miss four: high school.**

* * *

High school blows.

Kurt’s already a sophmore, but he wonders how he’s supposed to survive two more years. He has Mercedes, who is miraculously still friends with him. All his middle school friends have left him behind.

He’s gay.

And he knows it. And even though he hasn’t come out, he knows his former friends know it and that is why they left him behind. Mercedes is oblivious. Kurt’s almost afraid she has a crush on him. 

One day, Kurt tells himself to at least try, and he sits next to a girl who’s decorating something. Rachel Berry. She’s sitting all by herself, drinking a pink, disgusting looking drink. She sees him and her eyes light up.

The day afterwards, he calls Mercedes. “Hey, Mercedes. Have you heard they’re bringing back the glee club to McKinley?”

“No, do tell!”

“We should try out.”

“We definitely should,” Mercedes sounds enthusiastic.

And for the first time in a long time, Kurt is too.

* * *

“McKinley High?” 

But Blaine shakes his head. At least, he’s regained movement, so that is a thing. “It’s too far away. And it is another public school.”

His mother has a sad look on her face, but she suggests another school anyway. 

Blaine’s told him her doesn’t care, as long as he doesn’t have to go back to Westerville Central, but that is a lie. High school is awful and Blaine never wants to go back.

“Blaine, you will be released from the hospital, but you can’t stay home forever,” his father, who looks also very sad, says.

“You can homeschool me,” Blaine says, almost pleading. He does not want to go back to school. “No McKinley or whatever.”

“We don’t have the time, dear,” his father sighs. Ever since they’ve moved back, the Andersons have been busy.

“Maybe we should’ve stayed in Vietnam a little bit longer,” his mother says, “Maybe you should’ve continued school there. But no, we had to move back to Ohio, and we chose Westerville, and we sent you to that school…”

“You can’t blame yourself, nanay,” Blaine says, “If there’s anyone to blame, it’s me. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone to that dance.”

“Don’t say that, Blaine,” his father says.

“Maybe public schools aren’t the answer,” his mother says to him and to his father, “I heard one of my colleagues talks about a private school named Dalton Academy. Maybe we should look into that.”


	5. Spying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I say that I really, really like random words. I love getting the prompt and having a: “oh what the hell?” moment, and also reading everyone’s stories. Chosen words were fun as well, but the random words are more challenging and you get to see a different creative side of Klainers.

**Klaine Advent 2017 Day 5: Example**

**Near miss five: spying.**

* * *

Visit the Garglers.

_Easier said than done_ , Kurt thinks bitterly. Yet, he’s driving to Westerville, which is a two hour drive from Lima. 

But what on Earth is Kurt doing?

He’s disappointed for sure, because he finally felt like he was going to have a voice in the glee club, but the others completely shut him down. Even Sam, who’s been so supportive during Duets weeks, didn’t stand up for him. This sort of friendship that he has going on with the glee guys is the perfect example of his loneliness.

But is spying on a rival glee club really the answer? Kurt thinks it’s not. He’s read about Dalton, and it sounds too good to be true, but maybe Kurt shouldn’t go and spy on a weak a capella glee club. 

Or at least, Rachel says they’re weak. Santana says they’re gay.

Kurt smiles at the thought of an all-gay school in the area. It’d be great. 

Kurt looks forward and he sees the road. But then he sees the highway exit on the right side of the road. If he takes it, he can go home. If he continues going forward, he will eventually end up in Westerville.

Kurt sighs. Then he turns on his blinker and he takes the exit.

* * *

Blaine is running late. Jesus, it is one of his first impromptu performances with him on lead, and he is running late. He shouldn’t be late for that. It is basically his introduction to the school as the new lead singer. He’s extremely proud of that title and Blaine loves the Warblers’ rendition of Teenage Dream.

He descends the majestic staircase, looking down on his pocket watch. 

Blaine looks over his shoulder, but there’s no one looking for him. Other students are also rushing towards the senior commons. Luckily, he knows a shortcut, so he takes it by himself.


	6. Competition

**Klaine Advent 2017 Day 6: Fraction**

**Near miss six: competition.**

* * *

The glee club is celebrating its Sectionals win. They won with a landslide. Their competition, the Hipsters and the Golden Goblets, didn’t stand a chance. They were originally up against another glee club. The Warblers were switched with the Golden Goblets last minute, in a fraction of a second, because there was an incident with the transport accommodations of the Goblets.

Kurt doesn’t mind though. They’ve won. Now he’s really glad he didn’t go and spy on the Warblers, because it wouldn’t be beneficial in any way.

“We’re going to Regionals!” Mercedes yells happily. She throws her arms around her best friend.

“We are,” Kurt says happily. 

Rachel, Santana, and Puck join their hug and together with all the others, they sing a small impromptu encore performance. The judges smile, even though it is pretty obvious they want the New Directions to stop so that everyone can go home.

“First Regionals,” Mr. Schue yells excitedly when they’re back in the green room, “Then Nationals in New York. We are going to kill this.”

Everyone gives Quinn, Sam, and Santana an extra round of applause, because they really shone this time.

“Showcircle!” Brittany says and she holds out her arm and everyone joins in.

“AAAAAAAAMAZING!”

* * *

There’s tension in the Warblers’ Room. The painful glee club meeting has finally ended and one by one Warblers are slowly leaving the room. Not Blaine, though. He’s sulking.

Wes sits next to him on one of the leather couches.

“This sucks,” he says quietly. Wes hums in agreement. “Why, from all glee clubs, did we have to switch with those Goblets, Wes? Why did we have to go on, up against Vocal Adrenaline?”

“I wish I had the answers for you, Blaine,” Wes tells his best friend.

“Gosh, and this is your senior year, Wes.”

“Hey, I don’t regret anything,” Wes quickly says, “Yes, it sucks we’re out of the competition this early, but we will still perform. And sure, I never got to lead this glee club to a Nationals win, but I’m sure that next year, you will. When you’re the new Junior council member, no one can stop this club.”

“I don’t want the magic to be gone, Wes. I’m just so happy at Dalton and with the Warblers…”

“Again, who says we’re going to quit?” Wes says.

“No one.”

“Exactly. And to cheer you up… at least the Goblets lost as well. They lost miserably.” That makes Blaine smile. At least they got their payback in some way.

“That bad?”

“They lost to a group of elderly people called the Hipsters, and to this other glee club, New Directions. The New Directions won Sectionals. They’re damn impressive, if I may say so,” Wes says.

“Then we should prepare for next year,” Blaine immediately says. He wants to get up, but Wes stops him and he shakes his head.

“I looked it up online. If everything goes according to plan, the Warblers won’t meet the New Directions next year.”

“Well, things can always change,” Blaine says and he gets up to look for sheet music. Time to prepare next year’s win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously, the year after, everything does go according to plan and the Warblers and the ND don’t meet. I have a headcanon that the Warblers are up against the ND the year after, in Blaine’s senior year, but by then, Kurt has already graduated.


	7. Audition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to learn something about Blaine’s time at Dalton.

**Klaine Advent 2017 Day 7: Genuine**

**Near miss seven: audition.**

* * *

“We could get into so much trouble for this,” Sebastian hisses.

Blaine shushes him. He then hides behind one of the curtains of the auditorium. His friends follow suit.

“I have to agree,” David says, sounding nervous, “We are so out of place. We should’ve worn anything else. Now, people can see that we’re not from this school at all.”

“Don’t mock the blazer,” Blaine says.

“Why on Earth are we spying now? We could’ve spied on them before they went to Regionals,” Sebastian says.

“It wasn’t going to be of any use, Seb, we weren’t going to compete against the New Directions anyway,” Blaine says, “Besides, we’re not spying on the New Directions this time.”

“No, we’re spying on something bigger,” David rolls his eyes.

“NYADA auditions,” Blaine sing-songs. Then he peeks from behind the curtain and he pales when he sees who’s sitting in the audience. Blaine’s jaw drops. Carmen Tibideaux is here to look at the NYADA auditions. 

“Shh, someone is coming,” David grabs Blaine’s arm and the three of them run to another spot backstage.

A girl dressed as Christine Daaé walks past them, but she is so lost in thought, she doesn’t notice the three blazer wearing spies.

“See, it looks like someone’s going to sing Phantom. Boring. Overdone. Not of any use. Let’s go,” Sebastian says.

“You don’t understand true passion, Sebastian,” Blaine says and Sebastian sticks out his tongue.

“My God,” David sighs in annoyance, “You have no idea how glad I am the two of you broke up. You acting this way as friends is already exhausting, but when the two of you tried dating, you took it to a new level. Really, realising you two are better of as friends has genuinely made my life easier.” 

“Don’t be so dramatic,” both Blaine and Sebastian say at the same time in the same indignant tone.

“I rest my case,” David says.

Blaine’s about to protest when they hear footsteps. “Hey, you three!”

The three Dalton boys look at each other, horrified. They’ve been busted.

“This is a private event,” the man says sterny. He’s wearing a shirt saying NYADA Security. They’re in trouble.

A few minutes later, the three of them are being escorted out of the auditorium. Blaine guesses it’s for the best. The student auditioning was going to sing Phantom anyway.

* * *

“Which is why I’ve decided to change things up a bit,” Kurt says and he starts to smile. Then he says to Carmen fucking Tibideaux that he’s going to perform Not The Boy Next Door. Mercedes, Brittany, and Tina join him on the stage.

The spotlight goes on and Kurt sees the small audience: Mr. Schue and Finn. Rachel will probably join them now that she’s no longer part of the performance. There aren’t many people in glee club who share their passion for Broadway. And Finn is only here to support his girlfriend. No one’s really here for Kurt.

But Kurt can’t afford to think about that now. It’s time to break out the gold pants.


	8. College

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They’re out of Ohio! Time for the story to begin.

  **Klaine Advent 2017 Day 8: Health**

**Near miss eight: college.**

* * *

There are a lot of TV shows and movies about finding a new and better life in New York. Kurt knows they’re often very cliché, but he doesn’t care.

He is in New York, and he is enjoying every minute of it. Sure, he has to live with Rachel, but he’ll manage.

Okay, Rachel isn’t that bad. They’re both students at NYADA. Kurt didn’t get in immediately (a thing he’ll never understand), but after his impromptu performance at the Winter Showcase, the entire student body of NYADA knows his name. By now, he’s a sophmore and he’s killing it.

Santana has also moved in, but Kurt has no idea what she’s actually doing in New York. Kurt thinks she’s still a bit upset about Brittany. Kurt can’t really relate, since he never dated anyone.

But he is in New York now, so anything is possible.

In fact, he might ask that Adam Crawford, another NYADA student, out for coffee.

* * *

_“New York, New York, it’s a wonderful town.”_

“Could you, like, stop singing for once? This amount of sound is not good for my health. Mental and physical!” Sebastian mutters. He’s hungover.

“Seb, I have a big presentation coming up,” Blaine tells his roommate.

“But you’re not even singing that song,” Sebastian gets up, “Forget it. I’m sleeping. Don’t wake me unless there’s a fire or anything.” And without another word, Sebastian shuffles towards his bedroom. 

That’s what it is like to live with Sebastian Smythe, a boy who’s been so spoiled all of his life that college life is kicking his ass. Blaine will never admit it to Sebastian, but he quite enjoys watching Sebastion figure out how to live.

He is singing that song to practise, but also because it still makes him happy. He’s in New York.

Sure, he didn’t get into NYADA. He’d auditioned, but they rejected him. Luckily for him, he had a back-up plan and he enrolled NYU without a problem. Okay, it did kind of hurt to walk past NYADA, knowing he will probably never set foot in it, but he’s happy.

He gathers his things so that he can go to campus. The apartment is too small for any instruments, so he has to play on campus. Blaine doesn’t mind at all.

 


	9. Coffee shop, pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what a prompt. This story was already written, but I am expecting some Hedwig and the Angry Inch stuff.
> 
> Anyway, this chapter… woah… I think this is the closes near miss ever.

**Klaine Advent 2017 Day 9: Inch**

**Near miss nine: coffee shop, pt. 1**

* * *

 "That is it! I quit!"  

If there's one thing his glee club has taught him, then it is how to make a dramatic scene. Kurt basically rips off his apron and he throws it towards his boss. She has a stoic look on her face, but she must be used to drama as well. 

People always assume that coffee shops are nice and relaxing, and maybe they are for the costumers, but they are definitely not for the employees. And Kurt is done. His colleagues hate him, his costumers are bratty, and the money isn't enough. Kurt's friends work elsewhere and they get paid twice as much. 

(Although, then again, Kurt would rather not know where Santana's currently working.) 

Maybe it isn't Kurt's week. His presentation was awful and Adam dumped him, which led to Kurt dropping out of the Adam's Apples.  

Even though Kurt was pretty sure he wasn't going to be with Adam forever, Adam was his first real boyfriend and they had fun. It really blew when Adam admitted that he no longer wanted to be with Kurt. They had the usual "It's not you, it's me" and the "We'll stay friends" talks, but it was all for nothing. 

Friends. Yeah, right. Kurt has friends. His glee club has saved his life, even though it took them a while to catch up with him and realise how much he was suffering. They are all great people. Mercedes is still his best friend, even though she lives on the other side of the country. 

And the other glee club members are also all around the country. The ones in New York are as busy as Kurt. Right, he has friends. But he can't overlook that feeling of loneliness. Adam was his boyfriend, but also his friend. 

So yes, he's pissed. And he can't take it anymore. His boss just shakes her head. 

"Then out. Now." 

Kurt doesn't need to hear it twice. He grabs his stuff and he walks out of the backdoor. 

* * *

Someone passes Blaine, almost knocking him off his feet. The man misses him by an inch. The man doesn't notice, so Blaine lets him go. He wasn't hurt anyway. Blaine looks around, because that man did come out of nowhere. But then Blaine spots the backdoor of a coffee shop. 

Coffee. 

Yes, he was going for coffee. He needs coffee. 

So Blaine turns the corner and enters the coffee shop through its main entrance. 


	10. Holidays

**Klaine Advent 2017 Day 10: Judgement**

**Near miss ten: holidays.**

* * *

“Ho, ho, ho, merry bathtub!” Santana yells.

Rachel is already in the kitchen, but she doesn’t look happy.  The day is going to be exhausting, because it will be a travel day. They’re all going back to Ohio for the holidays. Their suitcases are packed and apart from Santana, they’re all dressed.

Their flight leaves in a few hours. They meet up with Artie, Sam, and Mercedes and they head to the airport.

So, the next few hours are a blur. The airport is crowded by tourists or other people who want to visit family. This obviously leads to some problems.

“What do you mean our flight is delayed?” Rachel shrieks when she sees the announcement on the boards, “My dads are expecting me!”

“Well, it looks like they just have to wait for a while, Rachel,” Kurt sighs in annoyance. He is tired and pissed because of the delayed flight, so the last thing he needs is Rachel’s whining.

Santana comes back from the helpdesk. “There’s an alternative flight-” Rachel’s face lights up “-but there’s only space for one more person.”  

Everyone looks at each other. Judging by the look on Rachel’s face, she wants the spot. Kurt sighs. He doesn’t want them to split and he can see that Santana’s about to call out Rachel on her selfishness, but he isn’t up for an argument.

“Go,” he basically shoos her away, “Go find out if you can take that spot.”

“Kurt!” Santana says in disbelief, but Kurt’s not in the mood.

“Whatever Santana, I don’t need your judgement,” Rachel says.

“Well, she was sort of right about the sweater,” Artie says, but Rachel ignores him.

Rachel hugs Kurt and immediately runs off. Maybe if she’s still in time, she can get that flight. She sees the helpdesk and she gets in line. When it’s her turn, she eagerly asks about the other flight.

“I’m sorry, ma'am,” the man behind the desk says, “You’re just too late. Someone else got the spot.”

Rachel knows it’s not his fault, so she remains calm. On the outside, at least. On the inside, she’s filled with rage and disappointment.  

“Oh, well, that is too bad,” she says through gritted teeth.

“Merry Christmas?” the man says.

“Happy Hanukkah,” Rachel sighs and she turns around and she makes her way back to her friends.  

A man is on the phone and he runs into her.  

“Watch where you going!” Rachel yells. She can’t handle anything right now.

The man apologises. “I am so, so sorry,” he says, looking genuinely sorry, so Rachel nods and she tries to smile to show him that it’s okay.  

“Happy Hanukkah,” he says.

“Happy Hanukkah,” Rachel says, surprised. At least someone notices her [obnoxious Hanukkah sweater](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fs3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com%2Fkneelbeforeblog%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F12%2F06224939%2Fvlcsnap-2017-12-06-22h39m13s520-920x516.png&t=OWFlYzY2Y2JmNjZlYTI0ZTZhMzdmZmUxNGY3MzViMWE5NmM0MzMwMCx1Wkw3dko3dw%3D%3D&b=t%3A1_FbMVvKlyXyfeQlKE-AmQ&p=http%3A%2F%2Fforabeatofadrum.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F168401998843%2Fits-about-time-1024&m=1). Even though it is obnoxious, people still tend to overlook it. She may have given up on the sweaters (after Kurt’s instance), but the holidays are a special time.  

He nods as well and he continues his phone call. “Hello, are you still here? Yeah, I’m sorry. But yes, I have the spot for the earlier flight to Columbus. Cooper said he doesn’t mind staying a little bit longer. No tatay, I swear. In fact, Cooper basically forced me to take the spot. You’d think he wants to have some time for himself. Yeah…”

Rachel sighs when she realises she just bumped against the man who took her spot on the earlier flight back home. But it is too late now, so she slumps back to Kurt and Santana.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I don’t watch Legends of Tomorrow, but I saw a clip of young Stein wearing that sweater and I knew I had to give one of those to Rachel.


	11. Spotlight Diner, pt. 1

**Klaine Advent 2017 Day 11: Key**

**Near miss eleven: Spotlight diner, pt. 1**

* * *

Blaine’s having a great time. He’s sitting in a booth of a diner with Sebastian, Wes, David and Trent. The last two are in New York to visit. They made the plans during Christmas break. Wes has been gone for a few months, but now he’s back in New York.

“Hello, my name is Santana and I’ll be your waitress today,” they hear. The woman has a fake smile on her face, but that is America. It’s all fake sweetness and happiness in this business. “Can I take your order?”

They order and Santana nods. She seems nice, even behind the commercial fake-ness.

“Okay, are you seriously thinking about moving to New York?” Wes asks David, who shrugs.

“What can I say, man? I need something new. Life after graduation hasn’t been all too kind to me, so maybe I need to have one of those cliché fresh starts in New York.”

“New York isn’t the answer to everything,” Sebastian says, “You have thought this through?”

“No,” David says and Trent snorts, which leads to the others laughing as well. David is usually well-organised, so him not planning everything is very usual.

They chat some more and Santana eventually brings them their food. Obviously, Sebastian complains about the lack of quality, but the others have gotten used to their friend’s snootiness.  

“This diner is really good,” Trent says.

Sebastian rolls his eyes. “Is it?”

Blaine elbows him, which makes Wes laugh.  

“Again, am I glad you two broke up…” David sighs.

“You keep telling that,” Blaine says, “We know by now, David, you can quit. It’s been over a year.”

“Besides, I found someone new,” Sebastian says, “So don’t you worry, David. Blaine and I are never trying the dating thing again.”

“Although, please save me from Sebastian and his new boy,” Blaine says, “The walls in our apartment are paper thin.”

Wes shakes his head in delights. “You are always welcome to stay at my place, but I must say straight away that Mae and I tend to be noisy as well.”

Blaine sticks his fingers in his ears and he sings in a very overexaggerated way. “La, la, la, did not need to know that, Wes! Gosh, this is the downside to being the only single one in our group of friends.”

“Aw, Blaine, don’t be lonely,” Trent says, “There will be someone out there for you. He could be close by.”

“I guess,” Blaine says.

The conversation then shifts to Wes’s new courses. He’s becoming a lawyer so that he can bang his gavel on a professional level. Afterwards, they pay and they tip Santana and they leave.

* * *

Santana is counting her tip money in the kitchen.  

“Sweet,” she says to herself when she sees that they basically gave her 80% of the price of the meal. They looked like a bunch of rich kids, so that’s understandable. Santana had thanked them, but then she didn’t know they tipped her this much.

She shoves the money in her pocket and she goes back in to clean some tables. A couple of minutes later, a sleep-deprived Kurt enters the restaurant.

“Rough night?” Santana winks.

“Not what you’re thinking, Santana,” he says, sounding very grumpy, “The last thing I need is a shift at my least favourite diner in New York.”  

“At least it’s better than that crap coffee shop, Hummel,” Santana says, “Aren’t you glad Rachel and I got you this job. For Rachel, I showed Günther my left side-boob and for you my right. Men are creepy, but you gotta do what you gotta do to get a job.”

“It pays better,” Kurt agrees.

“Exactly, especially when you have a group of polite rich guys in your sector,” she says happily, “80% tip, my friend! That is forty dollars just for me. The key to becoming filthy rich? Having actual filthy rich people giving you money!”

Kurt’s eyes widen. “Wow, that is a lot! Man, sucks I missed them. Hopefully they’ll come back. I could use the money.”

“Well, I ain’t sharing,” Santana says playfully before she continues her work.


	12. Date Night

**Klaine Ad** **vent 2017 Day 12: Limited**

**Near miss twelve: date night.**

* * *

_The Dalton boys are always right._

Of course, Blaine would never admit that to their faces, but the Dalton boys are always right. That’s all he can think of when he arrives home.

Sebastian is sitting on the couch, watching real estate TV, when Blaine enters their apartment.

“No boy tonight?” Blaine says, looking around in shock.

“We broke up,” Sebastian shrugs, “He’s not what I’m looking for anyway. He was great in bed and he was cute, but it wasn’t serious.”

“Sucks to hear that,” Blaine says. Sebastian shrugs again. Blaine, on the other hand, is waiting for something. Is Sebastian going to acknowledge that Blaine got home later than expected? Blaine had told his friend that his date would end around ten, and it’s almost midnight.

Sebastian gestures to Blaine to join him on the couch. Blaine does, feeling a bit disappointed.

But then Sebastian throws himself on Blaine and he hugs him tightly.

“Congratulations, you nice piece of ass, you got yourself a man,” he says loudly.

“I haven’t even said anything,” Blaine says, but he hugs back.

“Blaine, it is almost midnight. A part of me expected you to not come home for this night,” Sebastian says, “But you’re not into the one-time things. Not anymore, anyway. So, you stayed late with another purpose. And you’re not crying. I assume it went well?”

“Very well,” Blaine says and Sebastian grins.

“At least one of us managed to get some,” Sebastian pats his friend on the back, and then he turns back to the TV screen. Kayleigh and Derrick are about to buy the house.

“I didn’t get  _some_ ,” Blaine says and he turns to the screen as well.

“Oh, but you will,” Sebastian says, “This Anthony guy? Did he kiss you goodbye?”

Blaine nods and he blushes. He doesn’t understand why he’s blushing. This is something friends talk about.  

“So, us Dalton boys were right when we told you there’d be someone for you out there?” Sebastian says teasingly and Blaine rolls his eyes.

“You wish.” No way in hell Blaine’s gonna admit that he’s been thinking about that the whole damn time.

“You know we were right,” Sebastian says, “You know we’re right about a lot of things. After all, Wes told you to go to Little Italy for the first date and look how it worked out for you.”

“I didn’t expect you to be this happy.”

“Of course I’m happy, dude,” Sebastian says, “I want you to be happy. You’re my friend. I agree with David. It’s a good thing the two of us broke up, because otherwise you wouldn’t have met Anthony.”

“God, not you too.”

“That’s the influence of David Thompson.”

* * *

Kurt opens the door. He’d like it to be quietly, but the door to their loft is not working along. It is squeaky as always.  

“Look who the cat dragged in,” Santana says with a smug look on her face.

“Kurt, it is past midnight,” Rachel says in shock, “How did it go?”

Kurt laughs bitterly. Santana doesn’t seem impressed, but Rachel frowns.

“Not good? Was he hideous?” Rachel asks.

“How am I supposed to know?” Kurt yells and Santana rolls her eyes.

“I don’t want a noise complaint from our neighbours so shut the hell up,” she says.

Rachel wants to hug Kurt, but then she turns away in disgust. “Kurt, you smell like alcohol,” she says, “Was he that bad?”

“How am I supposed to fucking know? I never even saw him, because my pathetic single ass bailed on him. I hope he enjoyed the food at Little Italy, because I heard they have great menu’s, but he doesn’t get to share it with me!”

“You did what?” Santana actually seems concerned, “Kurt, have you been drinking?” She gets up to shake her friend. “Kurt, hey! Where’ve you been?”

“Bar. I think. I don’t know.”

“Why didn’t you go and see him?” Rachel asks.

Kurt snorts. “Because why would I? I… I don’t want to do this blind dating shit anymore. Is it bad that I want one of those cute meetings and shit? I want real love, not this tacky shit. I don’t want to be limited by this.”

“There’s nothing tacky about blind dating, Kurt,” Rachel says, “Many people find real love through blind dating.”

“Well, I’m not getting it!” Kurt groans.  

Rachel and Santana exchange a worried look. It’s time to get him in bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know if there’s a restaurant named Little Italy in New York. It was just the first name for a possible restaurant that I came up with. Also, thanks Verena for naming Anthony.


	13. NYADA musical

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mist. Okay. Since most of the story is already written, I just have to incorporate the prompt into the existing chapter. This was a tricky one, so sorry for the shit usage of the word mist.
> 
> Also, I don’t know shit about professional musicals done on university and I picked the first musical I could think of.

**Klaine Advent 2017 Day 13: Mist**

**Near miss thirteen: NYADA musical.**

* * *

Anthony wants to watch a musical with him.

Who is Blaine to say no? Blaine loves musicals, and sure, it isn’t Broadway (or Off-Broadway, or Off-Off-Broadway), but Blaine’s heard a lot about NYADA. Of course he has. He’d applied to that school and they’d rejected him. That does not stop him from sort of following the shows.

And again, NYADA musicals are prestigious. NYADA is prestigious. No, Blaine isn’t bitter anymore, but being inside one of the NYADA buildings does make him feel a bit uneasy.

The two of them take a seat. Anthony also goes to NYU for Photography, but he has a friend at NYADA who’s part of the show. That’s how they got free tickets for the second row.

“Lissa is going to be so happy after all of this,” Anthony says, “Broadway is her dream.”

“ _Broadway, here I come_ ,” Blaine sings softly.

“She didn’t get the lead role, but that’s okay,” Anthony says, “It’s a start. It’s credits and it is still a big role.”

Blaine opens his program. He sees that the role of Jenna Hunterson is played by Rachel Berry. Clarissa Dương stars as Dawn.

“Dương?” Blaine asks, “She’s Vietnamese?”

Anthony nods. “How do you know? But yeah, but that’s not keeping her down. She wants more than Kim from Miss Saigon.”

“Oh, it’s a Vietnamese surname. I lived in Vietnam for three years,” Blaine says.

“I did not know that,” Anthony says, looking surprised.

Blaine shrugs. “Well, you don’t know everything about me.” How could he? This relationship is still new. It’s so new that Blaine doesn’t even know if they’re actually dating. It’d be weird if Anthony knew everything about Blaine. In fact, Blaine doesn’t even know that much about Anthony. Maybe one day he will. He guesses he just has to wait and see where this will go.

“So, you speak Vietnamese?” Anthony asks, “Because that’d be so cool. Lissa and her brother Toph always speak Vietnamese and I wish I could understand it, but it’s such a different language.”

“It is,” Blaine says, “And no, I don’t speak Vietnamese, apart from those standard sentences. After I moved back to America, I sort of let it go.”

“More reason you and Lissa should talk!” Anthony asks, “I can’t wait till I introduce you to her. She’s been asking about my new boyfriend for a while now.”

Blaine freezes.

_Boyfriend._

Apparently, the relationship is old enough for Anthony. It is also old enough to introduce Blaine to his friends as his boyfriend. Sebastian and Wes have never even seen Anthony. Wow. This… well… Blaine did not see this coming.  

But it isn’t really a bad thing.

“Blaine?” Anthony asks, looking a bit worried.  

“We’re boyfriends?”

“Aren’t we?” Anthony asks. Suddenly, he turns red. “Oh. I mean, I just assumed…”

But then Blaine kisses him. “We are.”

* * *

“Gross,” Santana says and she turns back to the stage.

“What is it this time, Satan?” Artie asks.

“Two guys in the row behind us are kissing,” Santana rolls her eyes, “The show hasn’t even started yet. Gosh, get a room.”

“Yes, because you and Dani never kiss in public,” Mercedes says, “It’s not like you two basically screwed in front of everyone in Central Park.”

Sam whistles.  

Artie turns around to take a look. “Oh, come on, Santana. They’re harmless. It’s not like they’re about to fuck each other in those seats.”

“Guys, stop staring!” Mercedes says, “People will notice. Let us just focus on the show. We’re here to support Rachel.”

“As always.”

“As always, yes. Now, where is Kurt? He left to go to the bathroom ten minutes ago and the show’s about to start,” Mercedes looks down on her watch.

“Damn, Rachel’s gonna flip when she thinks Kurt bailed on her,” Sam says.

But then, Kurt arrives and he takes his seat next to Mercedes. “Sorry, there was a line. Usually, some men just go outside to do their business there, but there’s mist outside,” he quickly says, “Did I miss anything?”

“Just Santana spying on a couple, so nothing much,” Mercedes says.

“Anyway, it is time for the show,” Artie says. And he’s right. The lights go off and the curtain goes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarrisa and Topher Dương are from [my Cinderella pilot](http://forabeatofadrum.tumblr.com/post/168442203438/cinderella-pilot). For class, we had to write a TV pilot based on the story of Cinderella and it’s basically gay in space. Topher is the prince, but he has a sister named Lissa. Even though the two stories don’t have anything to do with each other, I thought: why not?


	14. Callbacks

**Klaine Advent 2017 Day 14: Nose**

**Near miss fourteen: Callbacks.**

* * *

Callbacks.

A typical NYADA hangout.

Blaine never imagined actually going here, since he doesn’t go to NYADA, but Anthony, Lissa, and Topher dragged him along. And then, Blaine dragged Sebastian along.

Well, this was before Sebastian dragged Topher back home.

“Maybe it’s the best if I stay at your place this night,” Blaine says to Anthony, “The walls of our apartment are paper thin.”

Then he realises he basically asked Anthony if Blaine can go home with him and he tries not to blush. It really wasn’t Blaine’s intention, although he figures it wouldn’t be all too bad.

“I never pegged Topher as someone to just go home with someone,” Lissa says, but she doesn’t mind or judge, “Good thing they went to your place, because the walls at the student dorms aren’t the best either.”

Anthony doesn’t really say anything.

There’s an awkward silence afterwards. “I, uhm, going to get something else to drink.”

Blaine basically flees to the bar. He does order a new drink, but he isn’t really focused on that. He really hopes he just made things awkward. They’ve been dating for a while and Blaine’s happy. He isn’t that afraid to take the next step, but is Anthony?

Oh God. Why did he have to talk about the paper-thin walls in his apartment? They screw up so many things for him.

“You okay, bro?” Blaine hears.

A blond guy is sitting next to him at the bar. He is strangely familiar, and yet Blaine doesn’t know who he is at all. Strangely enough, the song Gangnam Style starts playing in his head.

“Do I really look that pathetic?” Blaine asks.

“Not from a distance, but now I can see you seem like you’re not in a great mood,” the guy says. Blaine feels a little bit relieved that it isn’t noticeable from a distance that he’s having a mini meltdown, so he hopes that Anthony and Lissa aren’t seeing how stressed he is.

“I need to go back. I don’t want them to know,” Blaine grabs his drink and he gets up.

“Dude, why so stressed? Look, whatever is going on, you seem like a guy who knows how to talk things out. So, do that and then enjoy the night. My friends are performing,” the guy says.

Then they hear a: “Sam, get your ass over here!”

“Oh, that’s me,” Sam says. The name doesn’t ring a bell at all. “Good luck, dude.”

Blaine takes a deep breath and a sip from his drink and he returns to the table.

“Anh có sao không?” Lissa asks and Blaine shakes his head.

Anthony doesn’t say much.

“Anyway, I need to prepare for my song,” Lissa says, a bit too loud.

“Song?” Blaine asks.

“Blaine, we’re at Callbacks. I am a NYADA students. Of course I’ll sing,” Lissa says as if it’s obvious, “Besides, I saw Rachel Berry and her friends enter Callbacks and I don’t want them to hog the stage. So yes, I will be singing and Rachel will probably see it as a challenge, because she likes to put her nose into other people’s businesses, but I don’t care today!”  

She basically runs towards the stage, leaving the two behind.

“So, what song will she be singing?” Blaine decides to go for some small talk.

“She’s still in the Waitress mood, so I guess When He Sees Me. She killed it during the musical,” Anthony says, but it sounds as forced as Blaine’s question.

“Yeah.”

It is silent after that. Music starts and Sam and another woman take the stage to sing Human Nature, because according to them, it was their first love song.

“Look Blaine, I am sorry for making things awkward,” Anthony eventually says.  

“No, I shouldn’t have suggested-”

“It’s just that freaked out a little bit, because I so want that, but I don’t know how to…” Anthony makes some weird hand gestures, but Blaine thinks he knows what he means. Oh.

“There’s no rush,” Blaine says, “I wasn’t even implying anything.”

“But, uhm,” Anthony takes a deep breath, “I kind of want you to imply something.”

Blaine’s eyes widen. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Anthony says softly.

“Lissa’s about so sing,” Blaine points out, but he knows she won’t mind if they leave.

Anthony knows that as well. “She won’t mind.”

“No, she won’t.”

* * *

Sam and Mercedes finish their duet and they take a bow.

“That wasn’t all too bad,” Mercedes says, pleased, “The NYADA crowd knows how appreciate performers.”

“Well, apart from those two,” Sam says and he nods towards two men who are rushing out of Callbacks.

“Let them be.”

But then one of the guys turns around and Sam can see his face. “Oh man, I just talked to one of them at the bar. He seemed a bit down.”

Mercedes looks as well. “He doesn’t seem down now. In fact, he seems very happy while this other guy is pinning him against the wall.”

“Guess whatever he was dealing with worked out,” Sam shrugs.

“Hey guys, get off the stage!” Rachel says. She’s a bit tipsy. “Kurt and I are about to perform Wicked! Which is wicked!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, Blaine has met most of Kurt’s friends. Also, thanks to Brie for correcting my Vietnamese for this chapter. by telling me that a) Đuợc isn't correct and b) Vietnamese is a pain in the ass.


	15. Spotlight Diner, pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I take back what I said about random words.

**Klaine Advent 2017 Day 15: Orgy**

**Near miss fifteen: Spotlight diner, pt. 2**

* * *

Rachel Berry cannot wait for her Broadway debut.

Why?

Well, for starters, Broadway has been her dream since she was young. Second, she wants to entertain people. Third, she really wants to take off this damn waitress uniform.

She laughs at that. She just finished a show where she was a waitress, but that was all fictional. Being a waitress at the Spotlight Diner isn’t that much fun. And today, she’s bored. It’s a slow day, and her friends don’t have shifts today. Rachel knows Mercedes and Kurt have gone shopping, and Artie and Sam are probably gaming, and Santana is at Dani’s place.

She tells herself to cheer up. Soon, she’ll be on Broadway.

The door opens and two men sit down in her section.

She plasters a smile on her face and she makes her way to them. “Hello, I am Rachel and I will be your waitress today. Can I take your order?” she says her standard sentence. She just pretends it’s a line for a show that she knows very well.

“We’d like a little bit more time,” one guy says.

But the other one surprises her: “Hey, aren’t you Rachel Berry?”

The guy is looking at her with interest. Rachel smiles widely. “Yes, I am.”

“Oh, the two of us saw you in NYADA’s Waitress,” the guy with the cute bow tie says, “Anthony, she played Jenna.”

The other guy, Anthony, nods.  

Rachel can’t help but feel happy at this. She didn’t perform badly, but most reviewers were more interested in the actress who played Dawn. What was her name again?

“Yeah, we were in the audience,” Anthony says, “My friend Lissa played Dawn.”

Oh yeah, Clarissa Dong.  

“Clarissa Dong?” Rachel says cheerfully, “Yeah, she was good as well.”  

“Dương,” the still unnamed guy corrects her, “Yeah, Lissa absolutely killed it, but so did you, Rachel!”

“Thank you, uhm…”

“Blaine,” Blaine helps her.

“Thank you very much, Blaine.”

Rachel thanks them again and she tells them she’ll get back to them. In the kitchen, she tries not to squeal. From the window in the kitchen door, she can see the two men. Blaine is rather cute and Rachel can feel herself blushing.  

It’s been a while since someone liked her, and quite frankly, Rachel is a bit lonely. She’d love to be dating someone. Maybe, if she feels daring enough, she can slip her number. She doesn’t only like him because he complimented her acting, but he seems genuinely nice.

Anthony closes his menu and Rachel’s about to open the door when she sees that Anthony takes Blaine’s hand.

_Oh._

They’re probably a couple on a date.  

Rachel sighs and she feels lucky that she hasn’t allowed herself to fall for a gay guy fast, otherwise she’d be screwed. Otherwise she’d have to ask Tina for advice, and since Rachel is not interested in a threesome with them, she has to let it go. In fact, she’s pretty sure they’re not interested in having some kind of orgy with a girl anyway.

Yes, Rachel is a bit disappointed, but she can’t let it get to her. So, she takes a deep breath and she plasters another smile on her face before going back in to take their orders.

* * *

“We should go and eat something,” Mercedes says, exhausted. Kurt nods. They’re surrounded by shopping bags, but can you blame them? There are sales everywhere and they had some money to spare.

“Yes, and drink something,” Kurt says, “I am parched.”

“No alcohol this time,” Mercedes says and Kurt rolls his eyes.

“How funny,” he says. Santana has told the others about ‘Kurt’s wild night out’, as she called it. Kurt sees it as 'Kurt’s pathetic night out’, because he really was pathetic. That was the only time he resorted to drinking himself stupid, and it is the last one for sure.  

And besides, he’s embraced the single life.

Okay, that isn’t necessarily true, but the reason he didn’t want to do blind dating is because he didn’t want to rush in a relationship in order to find his happiness. True happiness will be there, even for Kurt, and he’s willing to wait for that.

So yes, he is no longer that bitter.  

“Oh!” Mercedes’s gasp pulls Kurt out of his thoughts, “We’re close to Broadway. We can go to Spotlight real quick. Rachel is working.”

“Are you kidding me?” Kurt says indignantly, “I already have to spend too much time in that place as a waiter, so no way in hell I am going there for fun. Besides, I see Rachel enough.”

Mercedes sighs. “You have a point. Well, there’s also this small deli two streets away?”

“Sounds perfect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m kidding. I still like the random word thing more.


	16. Matchmaking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins.

**Klaine Advent 2017 Day 16: Perform**

**Near miss sixteen: matchmaking.**

* * *

Kurt has tried calling Rachel, but she doesn’t pick up the phone. Even though they’ve been living in New York for over a year, Kurt still doesn’t always feel at ease in the big city, since it is so different from the relatively safe small Lima.

Safe. Well, apart from the homophobia.

But then the door of the loft slides open. “Hi guys!”  

“Rachel, where have you been?” Kurt asks.

“Oh, just… these two guys were in Spotlight a couple of days ago and we started talking and well, Blaine invited me over to talk about musicals,” Rachel gushes, “He studies musical theater at NYU, Kurt. Apparently, NYADA rejected him. He sang to me and I really don’t understand why they did that.”

Kurt holds up his hand. “Okay, hold up a minute. You were at a stranger’s house?”

“Not a stranger anymore, Kurt, although I do appreciate your concern,” she hangs on her coat and she basically skips towards the kitchen to make some tea.

“Why are you so giddy?”

“I am not giddy,” she sing-songs.

“Rachel, you are beaming and skipping around the house,” Kurt points out and Santana hums in agreement, reminding the others that she’s still there. Damn that Santana. She sometimes makes you forget she’s around and then she creeps up on you.

“Okay, I may or may not have a little crush,” Rachel says and she blushes.

Santana claps her hand. “Hell yeah!”

“Do you even know the guy enough, Rach?” Kurt asks, “He might be a creep.”

“Not him,” Rachel rolls his eyes, “Sure, he’s cute, but I am pretty sure his boyfriend thinks the same. No, I am talking about his best friend.”

Santana seems even more intrigued.

“Oh, so you’re trying to become friends with this Blaine dude so that you can bang his bestie? Nice.”

“No!” Rachel cries out, “Blaine really is a great guy and I can see us being friends, but no, I don’t want to be his friend with the sole purpose that I can bang his best friend. Blaine and I were singing and his best friend, Wes, just barged into the apartment and…” She trails off, looking smitten.

“And we’ve lost her,” Kurt says.

* * *

Even though Wes and Sebastian don’t want to pursue a career in anything music-related, they still love to sing. Blaine has bought an electric keyboard and they have started singing more often. When David will finally move to New York, they might revive the Warblers. They’re in the middle of their jam when Wes suddenly starts singing love songs.

Blaine doesn’t say anything and he just continues playing, but he also can’t help but grin. Sebastian shoots him a pointed look. Wes is so lost in his song that he doesn’t notice. When he finishes, Sebastian pats him on the back.

“Wanna talk about it?”

But Wes just blushes and shakes his head.

“Too bad,” Sebastian says and he gets up, “Well fellas, it was fun, but Toph and I are going out and I’d rather not be late.” He gives them a mock salute and he leaves.

The door closes and Wes blurts out: “I like Rachel!”

Blaine snorts. “Figured you’d want for Sebastian to leave.”

Wes shrugs. “Can you blame me? Sebastian would probably just tell me to go out and get her. And then he’d call me killer. Lady killer or something. Blaine, at least you still care about feelings.”

“Don’t be so harsh on Seb,” Blaine says, “I think this thing he’s got going on with Toph might be serious. Lissa said so too. But back to Rachel… what do you want to do?”

Wes has a panicked look on his face. “I don’t know. That’s why I am asking you for advice. Blaine, I just broke up with Mae. Am I taking things too fast?”

“You can’t stop these feelings for her, man.”

“Do you know if she’s single?”

But Blaine shakes his head. “Remember that I just met her a few days ago. I hardly know her. I only know she’s a waitress at Spotlight and she studies at NYADA. Oh, and she’s nice, although she’s also a bit overbearing. We were singing Suddenly Seymour, and she almost killed me with her look when I messed up a note while she was singing. But you know what, Wes?”

“What?”

“You’re overbearing as well.”

“So?”

“So, I am agreeing with Sebastian’s hypothetical advice. Go get her, killer.”

Wes laughs. “I so hate you right now.”

“You’ll thank me afterwards.”


	17. Weschel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A day too late, but I had a huge migraine yesterday. Ah whatever, here… have my obscure glee ship.

**Klaine Advent 2017 Day 17: Raw**

**Near miss seventeen: Weschel.**

* * *

Wes and Rachel start dating a week later and Kurt is overjoyed. He wants his friends to be happy.

“Bring him to the potluck!” Artie suggests and the others agree. That is how Kurt meets Wes Montgomery. He studies law and he’s polite and he’s brought home-made Chinese food with him for the potluck, and it wasn’t raw at all! Yes, he charms all of them.  

Oh, and he’s originally from Ohio.  

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Santana says when Wes tells them all that he’s from Westerville.

“Yeah, I went to Dalton Academy,” Wes says, “I had a great time, but New York and college is just more my speed.”

“Hell yeah,” Sam says, even though he doesn’t go to college.

“Guys, did you know Wes used to lead the Warblers?” Rachel says and she beams with pride. Kurt actually has to do a double check, because usually Rachel only beams with pride when she’s talking about her own achievements. She must really like him.

“Really?” Mercedes asks in surprise.

“Well, not leading it. I just guided it,” Wes says, “I was on the council with two other guys. But Rachel tells me you’re all from the New Directions? Wow, you guys are National Champs!”

“So are you!”

But Wes shakes his head. “I’d already graduated by then. My best friend Blaine took over and the year after I graduated, you guys won Nationals. The year afterwards, we beat you.”

Sam and Artie look a bit bitter. Kurt’s heard the stories of the failed competition year. The year after Kurt graduated, the New Directions had lost Sectionals. It was their first Sectionals lost.  

Kurt decides to change the subject and he raises his glass. “Anyway, welcome to the gang Wes,” he says, “Judging by the look on Rachel’s face, you’re not going anywhere.”

And Wes smiles fondly and he kisses Rachel. “I am not planning on leaving anyway.”

* * *

Blaine’s already met Rachel, but for Sebastian, this is all new.

“I just really liked Mae,” Sebastian whispers when Wes opens the door so that Rachel could come in.

“So, did I, but sometimes, things aren’t meant to be,” Blaine whispers back, “Now behave.”

Anthony snorts. “You two are crazy. If you whisper like that, you make it obvious you’re talking about them.”  

David rolls his eyes. “Anthony, did I ever tell you Blaine and Sebastian-”

“YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!” Blaine and Sebastian yell, making Wes laugh. Rachel looks confused.

“Anyway, these two are David and Sebastian,” Wes says and David shakes Rachel’s hand, “And you’ve already met Blaine and Anthony.”

“Wes still needs to thank me afterwards,” Blaine says and Wes turns a bit red.

They all stay in the apartment for two hours or so, chatting and occasionally singing. Anthony doesn’t sing, but he takes a lot of photos with his old camera. Blaine likes photography as well, but Anthony lives for it.

But Blaine notices that his boyfriend isn’t his usual self. He’s a bit more reserved. Anthony is not the one who shuts down when he’s around strangers. In fact, he’s probably one of the most extrovert people Blaine’s ever met, and that is saying something, because Blaine lives with Sebastian.

“Blaine and I must be going,” Anthony says after a while.

Blaine checks the time. Anthony is right. They’re planning on just hanging out, just the two of us.

“Have fun banging,” Sebastian says.

Blaine laughs. They put on their coats and they go.

“So, where off to?” Blaine asks and he takes Anthony’s hand. Ah, the simple pleasures of living in New York. “I don’t think Sebastian wants us to go to our place, even though he doesn’t seem to care about me when he asks Toph to come over.”

“Oh, I was planning on my place,” Anthony says, looking a bit lost in thoughts.

“Hey, are you okay?” Blaine asks, “You’ve been silent all day. Don’t you like Rachel? Sure, she’s a bit much, but I really think Wes would be good for her. And she’d be good for Wes.”

“No, no, Rachel is a lovely woman,” Anthony says, “But Blaine, can we really go to my place now? We need to talk.”


	18. Break-up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh, this is the first chapter that isn’t pre-written, so this time I could actually put the prompt in the story. Anyway, small disclaimer, I have no clue what the NYU campus is like.

**Klaine Advent 2017 Day 18: Stir**

**Near miss eighteen: break-up.**

* * *

Kurt did not know how he ended here, on the campus of NYU, with a heartbroken Elliott. Elliott has finally stopped crying.  

“Like, he just needed time off. That’s all he said,” Elliott says and sniffs, “No explanation whatshowever. There goes a three-year-old relationship.”

Kurt pats his friend on the back. “Man, I feel so sorry for you.”

“I get it when things don’t work out and when it isn’t mean to be, but Luke and I were great together and I did not see this coming. This news caused such a stir. What the fuck.”

Kurt still remembers how awful he felt after Adam broke up with him. Sure, it wasn’t like Luke and Elliott’s relationship, because Kurt already knew he and Adam weren't in for the long haul, but it still hurt when Adam dumped him. Kurt sometimes still talks to some of the Apples, but not to Adam. There’s too much past hurt there.

“Do you want to come over to my place to hang out and cheer up?” Kurt suggests, “Rachel is at Wes’s, meeting his friends, and Santana has a shift. We can have the lofts to ourselves.”

Elliott wipes his nose and he nods. “That’d be nice,” he says, “Although I left some of my notes in a classroom. Is it okay if I go get them?”

“Sure, I’ll be waiting,” Kurt says and he gives his friend another pat on the back. Oh, the troubles of being in love.

* * *

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Blaine groans in frustration when he hits the punching bag again. He knows he’s making a lot of noise, but Blaine doesn’t care. He needs this.

_This isn’t working out._

_We had fun, Blaine, but the fun is gone._

_I’m sorry._

Damn right, Anthony better be sorry. Why did he suddenly have to break-up with Blaine? Why didn’t it work out? Where the fuck did it go wrong?

_I’m sorry._

Blaine is sorry as well. He feels sorry that he’s the one crying in the gym, while he should be talking to Anthony about this. But no. The moment Anthony made clear that it was actually happening, Blaine fled his apartment.  

He rushed towards the NYU campus. He originally planned on playing all his feelings away in the music room. That good old piano has probably seen a lot of tears before. But then he passed the gym and he decided to go there instead.  

Sure, his boxing equipment is at his apartment, but luckily, there’s always something around and Blaine’s too devastated to care about the state of the boxing gloves. He just taped his hands and put them on.

Other people in the gym have been staring since it’s hard to miss that he’s not here for fun. He isn’t wearing sport wear, he’s using NYU boxing gloves, he’s been crying ever since he got there, and he’s been pretty loud.

_I’m sorry._

Sure, Blaine wasn’t in love with Anthony, but he could see himself falling for him. In fact, Blaine was pretty sure he was falling for him. Maybe it’s a good thing Anthony cut it off before Blaine loved him. But why did he have to break up with him in the first place?

Blaine keeps replaying their conversation in his head, trying to figure out why it had to happen.

_I’m sorry._

“Fuck!” Blaine yells and he hits the punching bag hard. It goes swinging and a girl, who’s also boxing, has to duck. She shoots him a nasty glare, but Blaine doesn’t care.

“Wow,” he hears. Blaine doesn’t immediately recognise the voice and for a second, he thinks it’s Anthony, but it’s Elliott Gilbert. Blaine and Elliott don’t share classes, since Elliott’s a junior in college, but they have met and talked several times. They both love music and they’re part of extra NYU-based music clubs.

Blaine’s breathing hard and Elliott seems worried.

“Time out, Blaine,” Elliott says.

“Elliott?” Blaine blinks his tears away, “What are you doing here?”

“I was on my way to a classroom to pick up some of my notes, but I made a detour because I realised I also forgot some of my fencing stuff here. Then I saw you. Jesus, the fuck happened to you?” Elliott’s staring at Blaine. He’s probably taking in Blaine’s messy look.

“My boyfriend dumped me,” Blaine spits out and he can feel himself tear up again. Goddamnit.  

“Shit, Blaine,” Elliott sighs, “Guess that makes two of us, eh?”

“What?”

“Luke broke up with me too,” Elliott shrugs it away, but Blaine can see he’s as hurt as Blaine.

“The fuck is wrong with men,” Blaine says and he starts punching again.

“Hey, none of that now!” Elliott says, “Time out, remember?”  

Luckily, Elliott doesn’t tell Blaine how to feel. That is probably because Elliott must know how shitty Blaine feels right now. Blaine sighs and it feels a lot better, knowing that Elliott won’t bullshit him.

“Look, I am meeting a friend. We’re going to his place later to hang out. If you want you can join us.”

“What are we, The Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band?”

“That is not what the song is about, but sure, if you want to be that!”

Blaine considers it. A part of him wants to go home and shower, because he feels absolutely gross now. But Wes and Rachel will still be there, being all happy and in love. On the other hand, he can go with Elliott and this stranger. He can’t really go to Lissa and Toph anyway, since they’re Anthony’s friends. Blaine’s stomach drops at the thought of losing them, because they’ve both become his friends as well, but Blaine can’t deny Lissa and Toph are Anthony’s best friends.

“Well?” Elliott asks.

But Blaine really feels gross. He’s all sweaty and the amount of movement has wrinkled his clothes. He doesn’t want to go to some random stranger’s house and make a fool out of himself.

“Sorry, man, but I think I should head home,” Blaine says and he points to himself, “I’m a fucking mess right now.”

“’S cool,” Elliott says, “But you can always call me, right?”

Blaine nods. He has Elliott’s number because the entire group has a group chat. Maybe he won’t call Elliott now, but he can always hang out with the guy.  

“See ya,” Elliott says and he leaves.

Blaine sighs and he tries to at least straighten his clothes. It’s time to go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This does not fit this chapter’s theme at all, but it is my parents’ 25th Wedding Anniversary, yay!


	19. Monday potluck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe it’s a good thing today’s prompt is ‘talk’, because there’s gonna be a lot of dialogue in this one. Why? Because everything is starting to get together.

**Klaine Advent 2017 Day 19: Talk**

**Near miss nineteen: monday potluck.**

* * *

Blaine was planning on watching television all day, but Wes convinced him to join Rachel and her friends for their weekly potluck.

“Come on, Blaine, you’ve been moping ever since Anthony broke up with you,” Wes had said, “You haven’t left the apartment all weekend.”

“That’s a lie.”

“Okay, you left the apartment once to come to my place, but that was because Sebastian kicked you out,” Wes had said back, “Dude, you need to get out of the house more. Like I said, join me for their potluck.”

“No way,” Blaine had said. He wasn’t in the mood to be surrounded by strangers.

“You like Rachel! Besides, you’ve been wanting to make more Halo-Halo anyway. We can totally bring Asian cuisine to that place,” Wes had argued and Blaine, tired of Wes’s begging, had relented.

That’s how he ended up with Wes in front of the door that leads to Rachel’s loft. She shares it with two other roommates and every Monday, her friends come over for the potluck. Wes has told Blaine they’d all gone to the same high school in Ohio from all places.

Wes knocks on the door and Rachel immediately opens it- as if she’s been waiting. Blaine wouldn’t be surprised if she’d actually been waiting at the door. The relationship is still new, but Rachel is already head over heels for Wes. Wes is also already head over heels for Rachel. Blaine feels a stab of bitterness when he watches them kiss, but he decides to push it aside.

“Hi Blaine, nice for you to join us,” she says, still holding Wes.

“Keep it PG!” Blaine hears, and he could swear he’s heard that voice before. It’s Santana.

Blaine does a double take when he sees the people. There’s Santana, the nice waitress from Spotlight. Then there’s Sam from Callbacks. There’s a black woman, and Blaine doesn’t know why, but he immediately thinks about his old sandbox set. A guy in a wheelchair wheels from another room, or at least, Blaine assumes it’s a room and the curtains are supposed to be walls. Elliott, who is there as well, waves.

“Guess this is the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band after all, huh?” he winks, “Although my friend Kurt is out of town. There was something with his dad, so he went to Lima real quick. I guess I’m his replacement.”

“Aw, but we love you,” Rachel says, “When is Dani coming?”

“At least this night,” Santana says with a smug smile and Sam snorts.

“Inappropriate!” Rachel yells, “Anyway, this is Blaine. Say hi everyone.”

“Oh, we’ve met,” Sam says and he turns to Blaine, “Callbacks, remember?”

Blaine nods.  

“Oh, you and your boyfriend left during our song!” the black woman says and Blaine forces a smile. He does not want to talk about Anthony.

“I guess we did.”

“My name’s Mercedes,” she says and then she smiles. Mercedes. Sandbox play set. Something in Blaine’s head tells him they’ve met before, but Blaine really doesn’t know. Mercedes doesn’t say anything about it, so he lets it go.

“Santana, hi,” Blaine says to Santana, who smiles.

“Hey, you remember me!” she says, “Fuck, Wes didn’t.”

Wes looks confused. “Am I missing something?”

“She was our waitress at Spotlight,” Blaine tells his friend, “Remember, when David and Trent came to visit us before David officially moved here?”

“Oh. _Oh!_ ”

“And Elliott goes to NYU with me. I only don’t know you.”  

The guy in the wheelchair holds out his hand. “Artie. That’s me, yo!”

“Wow, I really didn’t know you’d met most of Rachel’s friends already,” Wes says and he and Rachel take a seat, “I guess you won’t be surrounded by strangers after all.”

“Trust me, I wasn’t aware of it either,” Blaine says and laughs, “Besides, can I put this in the freezer?” He holds out his bag with Halo-Halo.

Sam helps him.

“Have you met Kurt and Dani?” Santana asks.

“I am not aware,” Blaine says while putting his food in the freezer, “Have I?”

“Dani is another waitress at Spotlight and she’s my girlfriend. Dark blonde hair, super hot?” Santana says, “And Kurt is a waiter at Spotlight and one of my roommates. Pale and tall and has brown hair?”

But Blaine can’t say he’s met either of them. “I haven’t really been going to Spotlight lately. I think the time I met Rachel was the last time I was there.”

“Oh wait, Wes, this is the Blaine you were talking about!” Artie suddenly yells. He was talking about something with Mercedes.  

Wes turns to him. “What?”

“Wes, you mentioned your bestie Blaine who beat us during Sectionals!”

It turns silent.

“Wait, Wes mentioned you’re all from Ohio and that you were in a glee club,” Blaine says, “Could it be…”

“Friend, let me introduce you to some of the New Directions alumni,” Wes says and he gestures towards everyone. Elliott quickly steps away.

“You are National Champions,” Blaine says in awe, but then he realises that he’s also National Champion after they beat the New Directions and many other glee clubs in Blaine’s senior year.

Oh. Awkward.

Mercedes nods. “But so are you. I had already graduated by that point, but Artie and Sam were still in the New Directions for their senior year and they lost at Sectionals. The Warblers beat them.”

Then Blaine fully remembers them. “You guys did Gangnam Style,” Blaine points out and Sam coughs.  

“Not our best song choice,” he says.

“You beat us,” Artie only says.

Blaine, Sam, and Artie exchange an awkward look.  

“So technically, you’ve met Artie as well,” Rachel says excitedly, “Wow. You’ve pretty much met everyone here in this room apart from Mercedes.”

“Yeah,” Blaine says quietly, although he really has the feeling he remembers Mercedes from somewhere.

“Fucking hell!” Santana yells and laughs, “Small world!”

Small world, indeed.


	20. Housewarming party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, I always kind of sing the title of this fanfic in my head, with the melody of Merrily We Roll Along’s Opening Doors (yes, the one with Darren). Instead of “We haven’t got time” I just sing “It’s about time!”

**Klaine Advent 2017 Day 20: Underline**

**Near miss twenty: housewarming party.**

* * *

Kurt’s a bit stressed. Luckily, it’s not about his dad. There’d been a small incident and Burt had been admitted to the hospital, but it all turned out to be fine.

But he did stay in Ohio and therefore, he’s now behind all of his courses. Ever since he’s gotten back, he hasn’t done anything else than work and sleep. So, when Rachel approaches Kurt about a party, he has to fight every fiber of his being in order to turn it down.

“But Kurt, it’d be fun.”

Unfortunately for him, Rachel doesn’t seem to get that Kurt can’t go.

“I know, Rachel, that is the problem. _I know_.” Rachel still tends to oblivious to other people’s feelings, and this is one of those moments where she seriously cannot grasp that Kurt doesn’t have the time, and that this isn’t some kind of twisted personal attack on her. She’s convinced herself that Kurt refuses to meet Wes’s friends, because he secretly does not like Wes.

“The others are all going as well,” Rachel continues, “Santana is even bringing Dani. It’s going to be amazing. David is Wes’s other best friend and he’s just moved to New York and his move has finally been finalised, so he’s throwing a huge housewarming party.”

“I know, Rachel, you’ve told me at least five thousand times, and I keep telling you that I honestly do not have the time.”

Rachel pouts and turns away. “Fine. But just so you know, Blaine is going to be there as well and I really think the two of you could be friends. Such a shame you’re going to miss him again.”

“Wow, such a shame,” Kurt says sarcastically and he rolls his eyes, “How awful it is I won’t be able to see a guy I don’t even know. Ouch, the heartbreak.”

“I really think the two of you should meet. And you should meet Sebastian, Wes’s other friend, as well. You should just meet all of Wes’s friends!”

“And I will,” Kurt tries not to snap, but he’s slowly losing his patience, “Look, Rachel, I definitely will. Your 21st birthday is coming up, so I will probably meet all of them at your party, if not before that.”

“Why wait till then?”

“Because I  _honestly, seriously, totally, absolutely_ , cannot go to that housewarming party, Rachel!” Kurt yells in frustration, “I would really love to, truly. I have missed hanging out with you guys, okay, but between classes and Vogue and work,  _I do not have the time_. So don’t think I’m being a bad friend or anything, I am just trying to keep up with my life. If I were to interrupt your work, you’d be livid.”

That shuts her up.

“Fine!” she snaps and when she leaves, she slams the door behind her. But Kurt knows better. Kurt knows she’s realised Kurt’s right, and instead of admitting she’s wrong, she walks away.

At least, now Kurt has the time to continue his work.

Hours pass and Kurt’s all alone. There are empty coffee cups and all kinds of papers littered with underlined text around his room. He’s already gotten a couple of SnapChats from his friends who are at the party, and sure, Kurt feels a bit of jealousy, but at least, he’s got work done.

* * *

“Welcome to New York, it’s been waiting for you!” Wes, who is a bit tipsy, yells before raising his glass towards David. The others in the room join him. David is smiling. It’s his first official party in New York and a) everyone’s enjoying themselves and b) the neighbours haven’t complained about the noise.

In fact, some of his neighbours are in attendance. David knows how to talk to people.

“Cheers!” Wes yells.

“Cheers!” the room yells.

“Mabuhay,” Blaine says happily. David takes a bow and others laugh.

The last couple of weeks consisted of a lot of tears, boxes with stuff, stress, and times of David crashing at Wes’s place, but now he’s made it and he has his own place. David was lucky. Cooper, from all people, decided that New York wasn’t the right spot for him after all, and he moved back to Los Angeles. Even though Cooper and Blaine didn’t meet up very often, Blaine was still a bit sad to watch his brother go, but at least it gave David an available apartment.

People are chatting happily.  

“Your friend certainly knows how to throw a party,” Sam says.

“Yeah, David is amazing,” Blaine says back, “So cool you guys could make it.”

“Ah well, Rachel basically threatened to kill us if we declined,” Sam grins, “My friend Kurt couldn’t be here and I heard that Rachel almost verbally murdered him.”

“You guys always talk about that guy,” Blaine says.

“He’s a cool dude,” Sam says, “Just a bit busy, but aren’t we all? It’s kinda weird how Rachel and Wes’s groups of friends are, like, merging, but Kurt’s the only one who isn’t merging with us. I don’t want him to be lonely or anything, but he keeps assuring us it’s cool. We still see him, though. It’s not like he’s totally disappeared.”

Kurt.

Blaine’s heard a lot about him. The others simply cannot stop talking about him. It’s always “Kurt would do it this way” this or “Kurt is so great with this” that. Rachel even tells them they should meet, because in her eyes, they’d be BFFs. (She seriously said “BFFs”). Blaine has to say that he is a bit curious. He considered looking him up on Facebook, but he doesn’t want to be too stalker-ish.  

The others talk about Kurt as if he’s some kind of saint, but then again, they all talk like that about each other. Sure, there are also some minor complaints, but overall you can hear that this is a solid group of friends.

“It’s nice to hear you all have each other,” Blaine says, “I don’t know where I’d be without my friends from Dalton. They’re always there for me, even when they’re drunk as shit.” They both look at Wes and David, who are both giggling on the couch.

Then, Wes notices Blaine staring and he starts laughing. “Hey, Blaine, hey! 朋友! Sing with us!” Wes yells. Then he starts rambling in Chinese.

“Yes, Wes has lost it,” Blaine says, “He speaks Chinese without a filter when he’s drunk.”

“Blaine, sing with us!” David now also says, “And Sebastian. We need a Warblers revival.”

Sam pats Blaine on the back. “Come on, give us a show.”

Blaine puts down his glass and smiles. “Let’s do this.”


	21. Coffee shop, pt. 2

**Klaine Advent 2017 Day 21: Variation**

**Near miss twenty-one: coffee shopt, pt. 2**

* * *

“So, this isn’t awkward at all,” Blaine says.

“You know, sometimes saying that something is awkward, makes it awkward,” Lissa says absently and she puts more sugar in her coffee. This time she tried the Medium Drip, after Blaine’s insistence. She likes a bit of variation when it comes to her coffee orders.

“Such wisdom at this early hour,” Blaine says and smiles, although he still feels a bit weird being in this coffee shop with Lissa. Blaine hasn’t really seen Lissa and Toph since he and Anthony broke up. Sebastian and Toph mostly go out, and when they’re actually in Blaine and Sebastian’s apartment, Blaine flees, because he’d rather not hear them.

And Lissa… well, it’s been weeks since he and Anthony broke up and Lissa and Blaine texted every now and then, but this is actually the first time they’re seeing each other.

“Blaine, when I asked you to meet me for coffee, I didn’t do it with the intention to scold you or anything. I just want to know how you’ve been,” Lissa says.

“Anthony is still your friend,” Blaine points out.

“Damn right, he is,” Lissa says, “But you are my friend too, Blaine. Gosh, I know having the two of you around will be awkward, but hey, Anthony is not here. Have you even spoken to him ever since?”

Blaine shakes his head. He’d seen Anthony in the halls of NYU once, but Blaine had turned around immediately.  

“I think I just need… I don’t know. I don’t really want to speak with him and I know that maybe I should, but no. Just no,” Blaine says.  

“Okay, enough about him. How’ve you been?” Lissa asks.

Blaine shrugs. “Not much has happened. I mean, a friend of mine has moved to the city, so that is nice, but apart from that not much has happened.”

“Blaine, don’t be lonely,” Lissa suddenly says.

“What?”

“Come on, Blaine,” Lissa says, “We were your social life. Me, Toph, and Anthony. Sebastian spends most of his time with Toph and I know Wes is dating someone as well. Is it true that it’s Rachel Berry?”

Blaine nods.

“Damn,” Lissa says, “I never saw Rachel as a relationship kind of girl. More of a me-myself-and-I kind of girl.”

That makes Blaine laugh, because Rachel is a bit self-centred. According to her friends, Rachel actually caring about Wes has shocked them.

“She isn’t all too bad,” Blaine says, “Sure, a bit overbearing-”

Lissa snorts. “A bit?”

“-but she’s really nice and she and Wes are a perfect fit,” Blaine reassures her, “But it’s okay, Lissa. You can kind of say that Rachel’s friends are becoming my friends as well. Tàm tạm, cũng tạm được, right?”

Lissa smiles a bit.

“I screwed up the pronunciation of that one, huh?” Blaine sighs.

“See, the more reason we need to hang out more!” Lissa says, “Who else is there to correct you?”

“Thanks, but I really am not lonely, Lissa,” Blaine says, “Oh, uhm, not to say that I don’t want to hang out with you, because I totally want to and I have missed you, but you don’t have to worry about me.”

“So, Rachel’s friends are cool?”  

“Well, turned out I’d already met most of them,” Blaine laughs, “But yeah, according to them, there’s one more guy I need to meet. They’re all talking about him and honestly, I want to meet him. He sounds like a friend. I meet him and then I’m set.”

“Well, then I’m sure it’ll all be fine.”

* * *

Kurt is the third wheel to Rachel and Wes. This is Kurt’s way of proving to Rachel that he does like Wes. Wes had already given him a reassuring smile. The three of them are walking through New York, and Rachel and Wes are talking to each other. Kurt’s just kind of trailing behind them.

“Anyway, I think we should take a break,” Wes says, “There’s a coffee shop around the corner. Blaine and I go there all the time.”

“Sure, why not?” Rachel says.

The three of them make their way to the coffee shop, but Kurt stops dead when he sees it. “Oh, hell to the no,” he says. Mercedes would be proud.

Wes looks up. “Hm?”

“No way in hell I am going in there,” Kurt says, “I used to work there and I am pretty sure most of the baristas still hate my gut.”

Then Rachel remembers it. “Oh yeah, maybe it’s not the best idea,” she says.  


	22. Invitation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sigh. We’re almost at the end. I’m currently working on the ending of chapter 24 and I kind of have a writer’s block? Like… the first 23 chapters were written without a hitch, and at the very end, I get stuck. It is as if the universe where this story takes place in really does not want Kurt and Blaine to meet.
> 
> Universe, why?

**Klaine Advent 2017 Day 22: Width**

**Near miss twenty-two: invitation.**

* * *

Sebastian has gotten the mail. He throws the letters on the dining table. “Yours,” he says and then he walks off with his own letters. Blaine sighs, because only official institutions use letters these days, with other words: Blaine doesn’t like getting letters.

He goes through them and they’re about taxes and tuition and other adult crap, but then he sees the last one.  

The first thing he notices is that the envelope is pink and his address is printed on a sticker that’s pasted on the envelope. Then he realises that it is very thick. He opens the envelope and he’s surprised to see a very long letter in it.

_Dear reader,_

_You are hereby cordially invited to Rachel Barbara Berry’s Rocking 21st Birthday Karaoke Party! More plans of the party will follow – including the date. But here’s the shocker: I am not going to plan my birthday. Oh no, you will._

A Rachel Berry Party? Mercedes has told him about the horrors of the previous ones. At least this time she won’t get to plan it herself. Intrigued, Blaine keeps reading.

_My 21st birthday is a milestone and I want to celebrate is with friends. After all, you only turn 21 once. In order to make it even more special, your collective gift will be this party to me. Of course, you’re also free to give me another gift, but this is great!_

_If you wish to attend the party, first send me a message with your confirmation. You are allowed a plus one. Second, please join the following group chat: Rachel Barbara Berry’s Rocking 21st Birthday Karaoke Party Planning, or the RBBRTBKPP for short. You will be added the moment you send me your confirmation._

_Last, but not least, this letter is very long. Why? There are a lot of blank sheets of paper. Write your own message on it and then send it to the next guest. There’s a guest list at the end of this letter and you can pick whoever you want. Cross off their names, recycle the envelope, and voila!_

_Why? Because it is fun!_

_Thank you for reading and I hope to see you there._

_xoxo Rachel B.B._

_PS. No Santana, you cannot hire a stripper._

Blaine never thought chain mail was very fun, but he can see the appeal of this idea. It’s original and it is different from the usual party invitations over text messages. He continues reading the list. The invitation was first sent to Wes, which doesn’t surprise Blaine, who then sent it to David. David has sent it to Blaine, so he’s the third to accept the invitation.

David has left a message to him in his part of the letter: _To my boy Blaine, because honestly, I don’t know the New Directions alumni well enough. Blaine, dude, if you’re reading this then you better get your ass over to my place anytime soon. We haven’t seen each other in a while. Anyway, join the party gang! Greets, David_

Blaine quickly looks at the guest list and he’s pleased to see that Sebastian is on it as well. It’d be the easiest option and it would save Blaine a lot of time. He doesn’t have stamps and Sebastian is living in the same apartment, so he wouldn’t have to travel.

But then his eyes fall on another name: Kurt Hummel.

* * *

Kurt knows about Rachel’s grand party plan. On one hand, he finds it very creative, on the other hand, it reminds him of Mr. Schue’s glee club assignments: they have to do all the work while Mr. Schue (or Rachel in this case) can enjoy the outcome.

Kurt knows it is going to be one big chain mail, and Wes will be the starting point. That is why Kurt’s very surprised when Santana hands him the envelope on the second day of the “chain”, as Rachel calls it. Kurt had assumed that Wes would first send it to his friends, and therefore it’d take a couple more days before the letter would get back to the New Directions alumni. But Kurt was very wrong.

He’d just come home from his shopping spree. He bought some widths of fabric for his newest design at Vogue. Then, Santana hands him the letter.

“Guess what arrived in the mail for you,” Santana says happily. She sits down at the table and she’s checking something on her phone, no longer paying attention to Kurt.

Kurt looks at the pink envelope. Someone put a Pokémon sticker on it with his address on it. Maybe Wes sent it to someone from the New Directions alumni after all, because Kurt can’t really say he knows any of his friends. But Kurt doesn’t recognise the handwriting.

He opens the envelope and he skips over Rachel’s part. Kurt already knows what it says. “Rachel, I am coming to your party!” he yells before he starts reading the rest.

“Okay!” Rachel yells back.

The first extra notes are from Wes. He looks forward to planning the party. Then, someone named David has gotten the letter. Afterwards, David sent it to…

_Hi Kurt, I know you don’t know me, but I am a friend of Rachel’s. I mean, otherwise I wouldn’t be on this list, right? Anyway, you are also on this list, so Rachel (and I) hereby invite you to her 21st birthday party. I hope to see you there. - Blaine._

Kurt frowns. Blaine?

Who the hell is Blaine?

Then it clicks. He’s Wes’s best friend. He’s the guy Rachel met at the Spotlight Diner when he was out with his boyfriend. The others have mentioned every now and then. Kurt smiles at the letter. _Guess I’ll see you then,_ he thinks.

Kurt goes over the guest list. He quickly writes something down. He puts the letter back in the envelope and he tosses it towards Santana. “Here, you’re next.”

Santana opens the letter.

“What do you mean I can’t hire a stripper?” she eventually yells and she shows the letter to Kurt. Kurt laughs when Santana angrily points towards his message to her.  

_No Santana, you really cannot hire a stripper. - Kurt._


	23. Planning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I planned on making each chapter around 200 - 300 words long?
> 
> Hahahahaha.
> 
> Speaking of long chapter: chapters 24 is still kicking my ass, but we’ll get there.

**Klaine Advent 2017 Day 23: Year**

**Near miss twenty-three: planning.**

* * *

The Rachel Barbara Berry’s Rocking 21st Birthday Karaoke Party Planning group chat, or the RBBRTBKPP, is a mess. Rachel isn’t in it. She left after she added the guests, so that it can be an even bigger surprise for her. Unfortunately, some people are more interested in spamming the chat with gifs and memes than actually planning the party.

 **Santana:**  I still think we should hire a stripper.

 **Sebastian:**  I’d be down for it.

 **Wes:**  NO ONE IS HIRING A STIPPER!

 **Sam:**  u already got white chocolate tho

 **Quinn:** Sam, no.

 **Sam:**  sam yes

 **Sam:**  but its 4 rachel its gonna be her year!

Since planning through a group chat filled with a lot of people always ends up as a disaster, they sometimes meet in person. Not everyone at the same time, because they’re with too many and not everyone lives in the city, but at least a small group can already make some progress. Kurt’s been to one of those meetings, but most of the planning has been done by the others.

Kurt knows the others are planning a grand party. Kurt’s a bit too busy with his internship, and the others understood, so Kurt is there to judge their plans afterwards. Every time someone sends one of the suggestions to the others, he gives his opinion on the colour scheme.

 **Blaine:** There’s nothing wrong with blue and red, right? Right?

 **David:** OH YEAH!!

 **Sebastian:**  OH YEAH!

 **Blaine:**  OH YEAH!

 **Wes:**  OH YEAH!!!!!

 **Puck:**  the warblers have taken over I s2g.

Kurt knows that they are the Warblers by now. He has clicked on their profile pictures on order to get to know them a bit better. He’s already met Wes. This Sebastian looks kind of like a meerkat, David is unrecognisable in his photo, because it’s his silhouette, and Blaine has a photo of a piano.  

Kurt sighs and he types a message. 

* * *

**Kurt:**  I quite like red/blue.

Blaine reads the message. Kurt likes Blaine’s suggestion. Blaine still hasn’t actually met Kurt. According to Rachel, he has this internship at Vogue and it is kicking his ass. He’s been to one of the so-called party planning meetings before, but that was the one time Blaine had to give someone piano lessons in the city.

 **Artie:**  kurt you traitor!

 **Sam:** bruh, its cool

 **Sebastian:** LOL

 **Tina:**  I think purple is more appropriate for Rachel. She looks good in purple.

Blaine doesn’t know Tina, or Puck, or Quinn, or most of the members of the RRBBRTBKPP, but he’s still mostly focused on Kurt. He can’t help it, but he is very intrigued. Now that he has his number, Blaine has considered sending him a message, but he chickened out last minute. He doesn’t even know the guy, and Kurt doesn’t know him either. They will probably see each other at the party anyway.

Blaine wonders what Kurt’s like. He knows that Kurt goes to NYADA, and works at Spotlight, and that he’s an intern at Vogue. And according to the others, he’s very nice.  

Oh, and he’s gay. Wes told him that.

He’s fascinated by Kurt. He can’t really explain why, but he’s just so damn curious what he’s like. Blaine had clicked on Kurt’s profile picture, just because he wanted to see him, but was very disappointed when he saw nothing. It’s a photo from behind and Kurt is looking towards the sun, so you can’t really see anything.

The phone has some notifications from the RRBBRTBKPP, and Blaine checks them. People are discussing possible venues. None of the messages are from Kurt. Blaine wants to read them, but more and more messages start appearing and the gifs are back.

Gosh, this party is going to be a disaster.


	24. The disaster that is Rachel Berry's 21st birthday party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was one pain in the ass. You might get that from the length, because compared to the others, it is huge. While I was struggling with my writer’s block, [I created Toph and Lissa (and extras) on the Sims 4](http://forabeatofadrum.tumblr.com/post/168893948458/topher-d%C6%B0%C6%A1ng-lissa-d%C6%B0%C6%A1ng-ella-robledo-and-luna).
> 
> Anyway, thanks for sticking with me and these two idiots through the 23 near misses. Now, it’s about time they meet.

**Klaine Advent 2017 Day 24: Zone**

**Meeting one: the disaster that is Rachel Berry’s 21st birthday party.**

* * *

If there’s one thing Kurt should’ve learned a long time ago, it’s that a Rachel Berry Party always ends up as a disaster.

The New Directions are close, but there’s always some bad blood in this glee club. It started with the fact that she’s invited all the glee club members, including Finn, and Kurt may have forgotten to tell his brother that Rachel is seeing someone. In Kurt’s defence, Finn never asked about Rachel. Of course, Puck has brought extra booze, so now Finn and Puck are getting drunk at the bar.

Quinn and Tina are happily dancing around. Brittany has once again taken off her clothes and Santana is looking at her. Meanwhile, Dani is right behind her. Obviously, there’s a karaoke machine, and Artie is doing his typical white boy rapping. Out of the corner of Kurt’s eyes, he can see Sam and Mercedes making out. At the bar, Mike and Wes are speaking in Chinese, or at least, they’re trying to speak with each other, but they both speak a different kind of Chinese, and it is kind of hilarious to watch them fight over which one is the correct one.

There are some people Kurt does not know. He does recognise some people from NYADA, but there are also people he’s never seen before. They must be Wes’s friends. There’s the guy who kind of looks like a meerkat, and he’s holding another Asian guy. Then there are two other men who are in a deep discussion about something. At least Wes’s friends are more behaved than Rachel’s friends.

“What a party, right?” Mercedes appears out of nowhere.

“Look at you, you’re glowing,” Kurt says and he kisses his friend on the cheek.  

“It’s kind of a disaster,” Mercedes then says. The two of them watch all the other New Directions members. By now, Santana and Dani have left, but you can hear them fighting. Sam is staring into space. “Why does this always happen when Rachel throws a party?”

“We spent so much time planning the perfect party for her, and then our drunken friends have to ruin it,” Kurt sighs.

“I don’t think most of them are drunk. Most of them are just kind of crazy,” Mercedes says and Kurt laughs, “I mean, that’s why we ended up being friends. The nerds and the freaks of McKinley High, but look at us now.”

“We are doing pretty good,” Kurt says and the two of them clink their glasses together.

“Besides, I don’t think Rachel’s too torn up about it,” Mercedes says and she nods towards the stage. Artie has given the microphone to Rachel and she’s helping Wes on stage. They’re about to do a duet and Rachel looks very happy.

The two of them talk a bit more, and one of Wes’s friends, who introduces himself as David, joins them. Mercedes knows David already.  

“Anyway, I’m going to get a drink,” Kurt eventually says, “You guys want anything?” But both Mercedes and David decline. Sam joins the conversation and Kurt leaves.

At the bar, Kurt orders his drink and he then scoffs at his brother and Puck for making such fools out of themselves.

“Are they okay?” A man sits next to Kurt at the bar, and he’s looking at Finn and Puck with worried eyes.

“They will be,” Kurt sighs, “Puck can hold his liquor, but Finn is a bit of a mess. He’s Rachel’s ex, you know?”  

“Ouch, awkward,” the man says and Kurt turns to him.

Wow.

Kurt’s pretty sure he’s never seen this man before, because if he had, then he wouldn’t forget him. He’s wearing a maroon polo and dark blue pants, which Kurt thinks is a great colour combination. The bow tie is a nice finishing touch. No really, Kurt’s never seen him before. He must be one of Wes’s friends.

The man orders a drink and he then turns to Kurt. “I don’t think we’ve met before,” he says and he holds out his hand, “My name’s Blaine.”

Blaine. Wes’s best friend. This is the guy who guided the Warblers to their Nationals win. And he is very cute.

“Kurt,” Kurt says back, and he shakes Blaine’s hand. It’s warm and Kurt doesn’t want to let go. “You sent me the letter.”

Blaine’s eyes widen. “Oh, so you’re Kurt?” Blaine says and he is looking at Kurt with a strange look on his face, “Wow. I’ve been wanting to meet you for so long.”

“Really?”

“Well, yeah, your friends don’t shut up about you,” Blaine says and Kurt blushes when Blaine’s eyes go up and down. Did he just check Kurt out? “I get why.”

Kurt wants to say something else, but then Wes yells from the stage. “Blaine, Sebas, David! Warblers reunion, now!”

“Ah, that’s me,” Blaine says and he takes his drink, “I guess I’ll see you around, Kurt.” He winks and he leaves.

* * *

When Blaine gets to the stage, it’s as if he loses all his new-found confidence. “Oh my fucking god,” he mutters to himself. Kurt. That was the mysterious Kurt Hummel they’re all talking about. When Blaine approached him, he decided to stay cool and collected, and he’s definitely succeeded. He hopes he’s shown Kurt that, but now that Blaine’s on his own again, the nerves come back.

Sebastian laughs when he sees the look on Blaine’s face. “Wow, dude, what’s up with you? You look like you’re about to pass out.” Sebastian puts his arm around Blaine.

“Sebastian, I… wow…”

Sebastian frowns. “Oh no, I know that face.”

“So, you know I told you I saw this guy at the party and I thought he looked really cute?” Blaine says and Sebastian grins.

“Yeah, I definitely know that face,” he says and he pinches Blaine’s cheek. Blaine swats his friend’s hand away. “Oh wow, this is Blaine’s ‘oh-my-god-I-am-totally-into-someone-what-do-I-do?’ face.”

“Sebastian, this is serious,” Blaine hisses.

“Okay, okay, continue your story,” Sebastian says.

“Good, so, I saw him sitting at the bar and I thought: 'Why not?’ and I took my chance. The least I wanted was a name. And the name is Kurt Hummel. Everyone’s been talking about him and I just wanted to meet him as well, and shit, I didn’t expect him to be this… this…”

“This cute?”

“This hot!” Blaine blurts out and Sebastian starts laughing very loudly, causing others to look at him.

“Fuck, Seb, what do I do?” Blaine says, sounding a bit panicked.

“Oh man, he’s got you. He’s got you badly,” Sebastian is still laughing, “This is amazing.”

“Sebastian, this isn’t funny!” Blaine yells, “I’m in a deep crisis right now. Should I, like, just ask for his number?”

“Do you want his number, Blaine?”

“Fuck yeah, I want his number.”

Suddenly, David is there as well. “All right, guys, time for a Warbler reunion. Are you ready to blow the minds of these New Directions kids, because I sure as fuck am! We’re in the party zone!”

Then he also sees the look on Blaine’s face and he frowns, but before he can comment, Wes yells at them to join him on stage.

“Look, let loose for now, okay?” Sebastian says, “Let’s rock out. Afterwards, you’re going after him.”

Sebastian hands his and Blaine’s drinks to Toph, who blows a kiss, and the two of them grab a mic.  

* * *

“Mercedes, holy shit,” Kurt says.

“Ah, hey, you’re back,” Mercedes says and Sam nods, “David’s performing just now, but we were just talking about our glee club histories.”

Just then, the former Warbers start singing. They’re an acapella group, but they’re very short-staffed, so they’re just using the pre-recorded music from the karaoke machine.

“Mercedes, holy shit,” Kurt says again and he watches the Warblers perform. Wes, David, Blaine, and the still unnamed man start singing and they’re amazing.

“Everything alright, Kurt?” Mercedes asks, “You seem a bit tense. I know this party is kind of a mess, but enjoy yourself.”  

“Mercedes, why didn’t you ever tell me this Blaine is cute?” he says, his eyes still on the Warblers, or on one particular Warbler. Blaine steps forward and he’s singing a solo part.

“Wait what?”  

“You guys keep talking about Wes’s best friend, Blaine,” Kurt says, “And I just met him and he’s very cute.”

Mercedes smiles smugly. “Oh boy.”

On stage, the Warblers are rocking out and Blaine is still on lead. The four of them are all dancing a classic side-step and then Blaine twirls around. He’s mesmerising.

“I hate to admit it, but I get why we lost to those guys,” Sam says in awe, “Especially with Blaine on lead. Wow, that guy is something.”

Yes, he certainly is.

* * *

The crowd goes wild and the four of them take a bow.  

But the moment Blaine gets off the stage, there’s only one thing on his mind: Kurt.

Sebastian winks. “Go get him, killer.”

Sebastian doesn’t need to say that twice. Blaine takes his drink from Toph and he starts looking. Kurt is no longer at the bar, but since he’s a good friend of Rachel, he must be around. Some of the New Directions men have started singing and people are dancing.  

“Pardon me,” Blaine yells when he tries to cross the dance floor.

Someone almost throws the drink out of Blaine’s hand, but the end is in sight. Kurt wasn’t on the dance floor, as far as Blaine knows. He can see the bar, but Kurt isn’t there either.

Then he spots him. He’s in a quiet corner, talking to Mercedes.

Blaine empties his glass in one tug and he takes a deep breath. Okay, he can do this.

He walks towards Kurt and Mercedes.

“- don’t even know him, Mercedes,” he can hear Kurt say.

“But you like him?”

“Have you seen him, Mercedes!? He’s possibly gorgeous and from what you all have told me about him, he seems like a pretty amazing guy.”

Mercedes spots Blaine. “Oh, well, speaking of the devil.”

Kurt turns around. “Blaine, hi.”

“Am I interrupting anything?” Blaine asks, but he keeps replaying Mercedes’s sentence in his head.  _Speaking of the devil_. They were talking about him. Kurt called him gorgeous.

“No, but I am interrupting you two, so I must be going,” Mercedes says, “Sam wants to do another Human Nature with me anyway.” She squeezes Kurt’s shoulder and she walks away.  

“Hi Kurt,” Blaine says and wow, where did this confidence come from? Blaine just hopes that Kurt won’t notice that he’s actually a mess. He called him gorgeous.

“Blaine, hi, so we meet at last,” Kurt says and he smiles nervously.

“Yeah, crazy how everything went down, huh?” Blaine says, “We kept missing each other all the time. The others could not shut up about you.”

“Oh, Rachel has been telling me to meet you,” Kurt says, “She told me we’d be friends. You’re from Ohio as well, I heard. Westerville?”

Blaine nods. “Yes, Westerville. Although I was born in Lima,” Blaine says.

“You’re from Lima?” Kurt asks, eyes wide, “What a coincidence. We’re all from Lima as well.”

“Yes, I know. The New Directions from McKinley High, Lima, Ohio. I probably would’ve gone there if it weren’t for the move. I lived in Vietnam for three years and when we came back to America, my parents decided to settle in Westerville, but I still remember Lima. Like I remember the playground I used to go to, and the Lima mall, and the awful Italian restaurant named Breadstix.”

“Ah yes, I love my old playground as well. And wow, you could’ve been part of the New Directions,” Kurt says, “But Vietnam? Wow, that is quite a change.”

“It is, and I’d love to go there again, but I’m glad to be back. Besides, I have Lissa to keep me up to speed when it comes to my Vietnamese.”

“Lissa?”

“Oh, of course, you don’t know her. Or maybe you do,” Blaine says. Kurt goes to NYADA after all. “Clarissa Dương?”

Kurt shakes his head.

“She played Dawn in NYADA’s Waitress?”

“Oh, her!” Kurt says, “Yes, I’ve seen her. I went to the opening night of NYADA’s Waitress to see Rachel.”

“Me too, although I went to see Lissa,” Blaine says, “She got us second row orchestra tickets.”

“I was on the first row in the orchestra,” Kurt says.

“Wow, we could’ve run into each other there,” Blaine says, “What a coincidence.”

“We could’ve, yeah.”

They hit it off right away. The two of them talk some more and they’re both surprised to find out that they have always been very close by. Apparently, Kurt used to work at Blaine’s regular coffee shop and Kurt smiles widely when Blaine admits to him that he once broke into McKinley to spy on NYADA auditions.  

Tina and Mike take the stage and they sing L-O-V-E. Everyone in the room starts to cheer, because something light-hearted was needed after Rachel’s sixth overemotional ballad.

“I love this song!” Kurt says excitedly, “Mike and Tina sing it all the time, but I can’t object. They kill it.”

“They sound great.”

Kurt puts down his glass. “Come on, let’s dance.”

Blaine laughs nervously. “Huh, what?”

“We’re at the disaster that is Rachel Berry’s 21st birthday party, Blaine, we deserve to have at least some kind of fun,” Kurt says as if it’s obvious.

“Don’t be so hard on this party. We put a lot of effort in it,” Blaine teases, but he quickly empties his glass and he follows Kurt towards the dance floor.

It is very crowded. Other party-goers are dancing. Sam twirls Mercedes around and Finn, still drunk, is doing his classic body roll. Dani and Santana must’ve made up, because Santana is kissing Dani on the dance floor. Brittany sees them, but she looks very content dancing with Artie and Quinn. David and Wes are talking while dancing and Sebastian is doing… whatever he’s doing.

“Blaine,” Kurt suddenly says, “I know this might be a bit too forward, but I just want you to know that I think you’re very cute.” Then he blushes and looks away.

“Well, good, because I think you’re very hot.”

* * *

“This is painful to watch,” Santana says and she takes another sip of her drink. She has left the dance floor and she’s at the bar with some other people.

“I can’t do this anymore,” Sebastian, who sits next to her, sighs and he holds out his glass for a refill.

“Why are we doing this?” Toph asks his boyfriend.

“I am wondering the same thing,” Dani asks and she eyes her girlfriend.

“Because Kurt and Blaine have finally met and Blaine thinks he’s hot, but he doesn’t really talk about it, because he is very nervous,” Sebastian says, “And therefore, he isn’t going to make a move. Instead, he’s trying to be calm and collected. He’s afraid that when he asks Kurt out, he’ll end up as a stuttering mess.”

“And I overheard Mercedes telling Artie that Kurt thinks Blaine is gorgeous,” Santana adds, “We’re the New Directions. We live off gossip.”

Toph and Dani exchange some confused looks. “So, you’re saying they like each other, but they both don’t make a move?” Dani asks.

“Are you guys sure?” Toph asks, “You just said that they only met a few minutes ago. They don’t even know each other.”

“We screwed each other the moment we met,” Sebastian reminds him, “And do I regret that? No.”

“And Dani, you reduced me to a mumbling mess when I first saw you. My underboob started sweating,” Santana says. Toph raises an eyebrow.

Suddenly, a giddy Wes and Rachel join them at the bar.

“What are all of you doing here?” Rachel asks.

“Just spying on our friends,” Dani says.

Wes follows her gaze. “Oh, they’ve met. Nice.”

Santana quickly fills them in on what is going on.

“Oh, come on!” Sebastian yells. The others immediately look at them. Kurt’s put his hand on Blaine’s shoulder, but apart from that, there isn’t really any development. “Blaine, make a damn move.”

Rachel squeals when she sees Kurt and Blaine. “I knew they’d be friends.”

“Pretty sure they should be boyfriends,” Wes says.

“Guys, guys! Something is happening,” Santana raises her glass. And she’s right. Blaine is leaning closer to Kurt and it looks like he’s whispering something, and everyone’s sitting on the edge of their seats.  

“Hey, what are you guys doing?” David asks.

“Shh, David, not now,” Sebastian says sternly.

“No!” Rachel yells when Kurt turns away.

“Why is this so frustrating to watch?” Wes says.

“Wait, you’re spying on Blaine?” David asks, “Who is the guy he’s dancing with?”

“Kurt,” everyone answers at the same time, causing David to jump.

“Who’s Kurt?”

“Blaine’s future boyfriend,” Sebastian says and he takes another sip of his drink.

“Huh?” David is a bit confused, but he takes a seat on the last remaining barstool next to Wes anyway.

* * *

“Are they still watching?” Blaine whispers and he leans back.

Kurt turns away from Blaine, so that he can watch their friends. “David has joined the clique. He doesn’t even know me. I mean, that is David, right?”  

This all started the moment Kurt saw Wes and Rachel moving towards the bar. Then, Kurt noticed Santana, Dani, the meerkat guy, and the Asian guy staring at them. Kurt had put a hand on Blaine’s shoulder to alert him of it.

“Describe him,” Blaine says. He obviously can’t turn around, because then they’d know that Kurt and Blaine have spotted them.

“He’s black, shaved hair, and he’s wearing jeans and a red cardigan. I met him earlier this evening.”

“Yes, that is David,” Blaine nods.

“I think they’re all rooting for us,” Kurt says.

“Well, I did just confess to you that I think you’re hot,” Blaine says and he smiles.

“And I told you you’re cute,” Kurt says.

“And you called me gorgeous,” Blaine says and Kurt’s eyes widen in surprise.

Then he smiles as well. “You heard that, huh?”

“This is not what I expected,” Blaine says.

“Of what?”

“Of meeting you,” Blaine answers, “I didn’t expect us to meet at a disastrous party with all of our friends spying on us while we dance.”

“Then what did you expect?” Kurt asks.

“I don’t know,” Blaine admits, “Just not this. Everyone has been talking about you and I got curious, and it was just weird that we never actually met. Is it weird if I tell you that you intrigued me? I didn’t know you and I just wanted to know you.”

But Kurt isn’t freaked out. “Did I exceed your expectations?” he asks teasingly.

“I also didn’t know what to expect from you,” Blaine answers, “But whatever it is, you are not what I expected. The real you is way better.”

Kurt looks surprised at that. Then he looks behind Blaine.

“What?”

“They’re still there.”

“Then let’s go.”

* * *

“No!”

“No, no!”

_“No!”_

“Come on!”

“What the fuck!”

“I feel cheated!”

“NO.”

Sam and Mercedes both arrive at the bar to find their friends in a weird state.  

“What is wrong?” Mercedes asks worriedly. Sebastian just empties his glass and immediately asks for a refill. Dani and Santana are talking to each other in hushed tones. Sam looks around, but he can’t find anything noteworthy.

“Kurt and Blaine have just met and they’ve been flirty ever since,” Toph explains, “They were on the dance floor and just when we thought something was going to happen, they leave us hanging. Fuck, I can’t believe they got me emotionally invested in this.”

Wes nods. “They just stopped dancing and they left.”

“But I need development,” Rachel whines, “They were so close.”

Santana jumps out of her seat. “Maybe we should go look for them!”

The others all nod and hum in agreement and Sam and Mercedes stare at each other in amazement.  

“You guys are not going to look for them!” Mercedes yells and she grabs Santana by her arm so that she doesn’t have the chance to walk away.

“Dudes, give them time,” Sam sighs.

“If they really like each other, then they need their privacy,” Mercedes says and she forces Santana back in her seat.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kurt and Blaine are running through the hallways of the building. They turn a corner and they stop to catch their breaths.

“Did you hear Santana yell?” Kurt laughs.

“Uhm, Sebastian?”

“That teaches them,” Kurt says.

“Honestly, I think it is kind of sweet that they care so much about us,” Blaine says.

“But we’re finally alone,” Kurt says. That’s why Kurt led Blaine from the dance floor. Sure, it is fun to mess a little bit with their friends, but that wasn’t Kurt’s only intention. Their friends kept distracting them, but that time is over now.

“So, what now?”

It’s weird.

Even now that they’ve met, it still feels like they’re walking around each other, as if they’re still missing each other by just an inch. Kurt is waiting for Blaine to make the first move, but maybe Blaine is also waiting for Kurt to make the first move. After all, if there’s one thing he has learned about Blaine, it is that he’s very polite.

But Kurt is done with waiting.

“Blaine, I want to-” “Can I-”

The two of them laugh.

“You go first,” Kurt says.

“No, you.”

“Please,” Kurt rolls his eyes.

Blaine blushes. “Can I kiss you?”

Even though Kurt definitely wants that, he’s too stunned to actually speak. Just a few seconds ago, he was so certain he had to be the one to make the first move.

Obviously, Blaine misinterprets Kurt’s lack of response. His eyes widen and he says in panic: “I mean, I sort of assumed you’d be okay with that. You called me gorgeous and I think you’re very, very hot, and even our friends seem to be rooting for us.”

“Blaine-”

“So I am so sorry I didn’t mean to ruin this and I just-”

“Blaine!”

“Gosh I feel like a dumbass right now-”

“Blaine!” Kurt grabs him by the shoulders, “Shut up!”

And then Kurt leans in to kiss Blaine, silencing Blaine instantly. In the beginning, Blaine is a bit taken aback, but then he kisses back.

It was a long way coming, but it was worth it.

* * *

Santana has had too much to drink. She’s sobbing in Dani’s arms about the missed opportunities of the Kurt and Blaine romance. Dani is rooting for them as well, but she is still a bit freaked out.

Artie, who had joined the gang right after Kurt and Blaine had left, is shaking his head.

"Well, guess we will never figure what is going on,” Sebastian sighs sadly, “Just when I thought Blaine had found someone good. No offense to your friend, Toph.”

“None taken.”

“Guys, we are being pathetic,” David says, “Why are we still there. Whatever is happening between Kurt and Blaine, we’re not part of it. Then again, we shouldn’t be. This is their thing.”

The others nod solemnly. It is time to leave the bar and to continue partying.

“Holy shit!” Wes suddenly yells and he points towards a door.

Kurt and Blaine are holding hands and they’re slowly making their way back to the dance floor.

“Am I seeing this?” Mercedes rubs her eyes just to be sure.

But when Kurt and Blaine kiss, they all can’t deny it.

Wes grins and he raises his glass towards the new happy couple. “It’s about time,” he says and the others nod in agreement.

* * *

“I think they’re toasting on us,” Kurt says. Blaine turns around and he winks towards his friends before turning back to Kurt.

“Good. And so they should.”

“I am so happy Rachel threw this disastrous party. Otherwise we wouldn’t have met.”

“We basically threw this party,” Blaine reminds him, “And who knows. We could’ve met in a different way.”

“We could’ve, yeah, but we didn’t.”

Out of the corner of Kurt’s eye, he can see Elliott has joined the group of lurkers.   
“They’re still there and this time, Elliott is with them. Why?”

“Well, let’s give them a show,” Blaine says and he kisses Kurt again. It’s the third kiss that evening and it certainly won’t be the last.

And in the back, their friends cheer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **End notes:** Thank you so much for reading! I wish I still had the inspiration to write a heartfelt end note, but really, all I can say is thank you.
> 
> Oh, last but not least, to [@hkvoyage](https://tmblr.co/mDuSsqQxKJx8WZTGY_xO1Rw) and [Leydhawk](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Farchiveofourown.org%2Fusers%2FLeydhawk%2Fpseuds%2FLeydhawk&t=MGMyMDU3ODFhOTBmM2MxNDZhMjcyNDE1YTVmMTE5MzE4MmUyMmMzYSxiU2pZSGdTMg%3D%3D&b=t%3A1_FbMVvKlyXyfeQlKE-AmQ&p=http%3A%2F%2Fforabeatofadrum.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F168899725783%2Fits-about-time-2424-complete&m=1), [I promised you puppies.](http://forabeatofadrum.tumblr.com/post/168899700893/to-hkvoyage-and-leydhawk)


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